Prison Bound
by Annjirika
Summary: “I love you too then, I guess.” And the rain began. What a cliché. But...you know what? Yay for clicheness. [Sokairi - bits of Yuriku]
1. Introducing

Click. The lights came on instantly. I groaned and rolled over, burying my face in my pillow to avoid the brightness. "Morning dear." A brisk voice announced, accompanied by the sound of my closet door being opened.  
  
"Mom." I groaned, flopping onto my back again and squinted into the glaring overhead light. I saw her rummaging through my clothes and rolled my eyes. "I'm 16 ya know. I can pick out my own clothes." I told her as I sat up. She didn't pause for an instant as she agreed in her laughing motherly way  
  
"I know. I also know what kind of clothes you would pick out and well here we are. I want you to look nice today." She glanced at me, though checking for something. My reaction probably. I took the bait.  
  
"What's today?"  
  
Sure enough that's what she wanted. She spun around with her usual elegance (that I didn't inherit) and smiled her thousand watt smile (again something I didn't inherit). I didn't like the looks of that. The smile was usually reserved for charming me or my older sister or (especially) my father into doing something we didn't want to do.  
  
"Well." She giggled like...well like I would. "Don't say anything, but you know that boy your sister's been courting?"  
  
"Dating, mom. Its dating and his name is Xander."  
  
"Whatever dear. He's asked your father for Charima's hand in marriage! Isn't that sweet? Such a gentlemen and perfectly old-fashioned." My mother looked too excited for me to ruin it, so I held back a gag. If Charisma knew mom was referring to her 'courting that boy' or that Xander 'asked father for her hand in marriage' she would probably go into one of her princess rants, as I liked to call them. And when princess wasn't happy, no one was happy.  
  
I was my mother's favorite (sounds harsh but my father and I hadn't been on speaking terms since forever) and Charisma was my fathers favorite. She had always been a daddy's girl, and anything but a princess. I only called her a princess because she was somewhat self-centered. Charisma was definitely the most unladylike one between the two of us, which caused my surprise at her choice of boyfriend.  
  
My father didn't like the fact that I didn't care about my image, especially if my lack of thought affected his being the mayor. I was never close to him and I never had talked much to him. We pretty much kept our distance from each other. It wasn't that I was rebellious or punk or anything, I was far from. But I never did pay attention to what I did or who I hurt or how I was perceived. Maybe I was the self-centered one.  
  
Life on Destiny Islands was positively glorious. I could stay out all day in the sun and ocean and not worry about a thing. It was a nice change from the dreary, misty abyss of Hollow Bastion. Moving to Destiny Islands was the best thing that could have possibly happened to me. Meeting Riku was an added bonus.  
  
My parents were still pretty old-fashioned and it showed in their words (refer to 'courting') and their actions. Especially when it came to boys. The older I got the more they pressured me to date. I would joke about my father wanting me married off so I would move out of the house, but I don't think it would be a joke. Imagine my surprise when I came home from a perfect day of relaxing, sunburned and salty, to find a handsome silver haired prince sitting in my living room.  
  
My father's set up backfired. The only chemistry Riku and I developed was strictly platonic. No matter how much my father praised Riku's suitability and ranted about how he would make a 'good a husband' or how many times my mother mentioned Riku's and my good looks and how nice we looked together, we still managed to be best friends. Oh how this irritated my father.  
  
It was much like killing two birds with one stone, making a best friend and pissing off my parents at the same time. Again, I'm not rebellious. I'm not anything. I'm rather normal to come from such a strange family. Besides, I was and still am 16. Too young for a serious commitment and WAY too young for marriage. As happy as I was for charisma, I couldn't help wondering why anyone her age would want to tie themselves down like that.  
  
I asked her about that once. She just smiled and replied, "Ah when you find him Kairi you'll understand." And then I always griped her out for being so damned mysterious.  
  
"That's great mom." I feigned actual happiness (Quite well I might add) and a smile when she bought it. "And he's doing this while we're all around?"  
  
"No of course not. We're meeting on Paopu Island for lunch. They'll walk on and have their privacy." Again she smiled.  
  
"I can still pick out my own clothes." I muttered shoving the blankets off of me and standing up. The wood floor was cold on my bare feet and I quickly hopped over the dresser to find a pair of socks.  
  
Mom shut her eyes briefly and nodded her head in defeat. "Alright. Alright fine, but something nice dear. Like a sundress or-"  
  
"Mom."  
  
"Okay okay sorry" She shut up and left me to dress. The clock told me it was 10 AM. I shoved the black curtains away from the window and opened the latch to let the ocean air in. Sunlight filled the room and mixed with the florescent light. A sundress? I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the dress side of my closet. My preferred choice of attire would have been a bathing suit to swim in. In the end I chose a simple light pink sundress with spaghetti straps and white flip flops. With a white shelled necklace and a matching scrunchie to pull my hair up in, the outfit would be completely gay and mother-approved. I put it on my unmade bed and hurried to shower. I could hear the hustle of the rest of the house as Charisma skittered around like a nervous mouse, taking on and off jewelry, deciding whether to wear her hair up or down. She was so anal about her appearance (more so than usual) that I wondered if she knew about the proposal.  
  
"Kairi!" She gasped when she spotted me exiting the bathroom. "Kairi what do you think? Sandals or heels?" She did the flamingo dance, allowing me to see each shoe with the dress (A bare-backed lavender and white creation). I pointed out that heels would be hard to walk in the sand with and let her decide the rest. When I was able to get dressed, I pulled my hair into a loose braid down my back and went through the make-up ritual.  
  
Before I knew it (or had time for breakfast) it was noon and I was being ushered out the door. Waiting for me at the bottom of the porch stairs was Riku himself, dressed in casual slacks and a nice shirt. He looked good in 'nice' clothes I decided, but he looked out of place. We were used to each other in cut offs and (in my case) a bathing suit top.  
  
I could tell by his expression that he was thinking the same thing when he saw me because his lips curled into that familiar ha-ha-lucky-you sort of smirk reserved for such occasions. "Mom?" I glanced at my mother in a tortured sort of way. I knew Riku wouldn't take it personally. She tucked an auburn curl behind her ear, a habit I'd picked up on when she was confronted about something, and smiled.  
  
"I invited him." She answered the glare gracefully. I shared a secret smile with my silver-haired acquaintance and let the family fall ahead. Riku and I hung back to talk.  
  
He chuckled and muttered, "You look nice." His silly emphasis fell on nice. I mock-laughed.  
  
"I'll have you know that I used to wear skirts all the time." I retorted easily. "And you look so much better." I looked down at his black dress shoes and purposely snickered. He rolled his bright eyes. We didn't have anymore time to bicker. My mother pulled me aside and announced that there would be a change of plans. We would be taking the walk to leave Charisma and Xander on their own. I fell back to repeat the plan to Riku, who nodded in agreement.  
  
He was used to my families' bizarre behavior, paying no attention to the fact that my father looked through me or to the constant defying, cheerful attitude my mother always had. And those were the normal oddities. A large round table had been elegantly set up in the middle of Paopu Island. As soon as Xander saw us coming, he stood and gave us a broad smile. I didn't dislike Xander; he was nice and definitely not slimy. He treated Charisma like she was his reason for living, so between his attention and her own love for herself, it was a match made in pre-arranged heaven.  
  
"Xander!" My mother cried as she hugged him like a long lost son. I hid a smile that only Riku caught. "How good to see you again."  
  
"How've you been? Well I hope?" My father was much more composed and only shook his hand firmly.  
  
"Very well thank you." He pulled out the chair for my mother. "Mrs. Cavanaugh?" He motioned to the chair and she accepted with a polite thank you. Xander said hello to me and started to pull out another chair but Riku took a firm hold of it and pulled it out himself. Xander looked confused for a second but let it slide as soon as he saw his future fiancé. His face lit up like a thousand candles as he embraced her. I slid into the chair with soft thanks, mesmerized by the love between my sister and my soon-to- be brother in love. Riku sat beside me and followed my gaze.  
  
"I'm so jealous." I sighed quietly so only he could hear. It was supposed to be a joke but the sting of the statement let me know otherwise. Riku looked surprised. He looked at me questioningly, his eyes probing mine. Suddenly he broke into a grin.  
  
"Aw is my Kaiwi growing up? Does Kaiwi have a cwush?" He kept his voice low so not to draw attention. I tried not to smile.  
  
"Kaiwi's gonna kick your ass if you call her Kaiwi again."  
  
"Well played grasshopper."  
  
"And there's no crush." Added right before my father turned his attention to me.  
  
"Well Kairi. How've you been?" He asked politely. If a stranger listened to that question, they would have no idea that we were related, much less lived in the same household.  
  
"Fine." I answered easily, sipping my water. The caterers were wheeling over our lunch across the bridge. "And you?" My tone matched his; cool and polite. It made me sort of sad, the way my father treated me. And vice versa. He had no idea what went on in my life, aside fro what my mother told him and what he forced himself into. He wanted Riku and I to become Charisma and Xander and marry me off to wash his hands of me. Harsh as it seemed, I wanted rid of him too.  
  
He never was the loving father type and he certainly didn't have any interest in a daughter that didn't want anything to do with his life and continue in the family business. "Fine. Perfectly fine. How is your school?"  
  
"Its summertime."  
  
"Oh yes of course." He glanced at my mother as though looking for a reprieve from this excruciating conversation with his daughter but found her lively green eyes were fixed on Xander, fully engrossed in his story. When he realized he had no escape from the conversation he'd started, he turned to Riku and smiled. "Riku old boy."  
  
"Sir." Riku nodded politely.  
  
"Tell me. What do you think of...the happenings?" He asked, referring to the oncoming proposal. Riku looked pensive for a moment, as though trying to think of the right words.  
  
As soon as he was sure Charisma could hear he replied, "I think marriage is great if you truly love someone. Spending your life with them is..." Riku paused.  
  
"The right thing to do." My father interjected, glancing at me. "Every man needs a wife." I knew where this was going. To keep my temper in check I looked at the ocean horizon. I could feel Riku's gaze on me. The food had been served but I lost my appetite. "Every woman needs a good man. To be honest, I think that your age is the perfect age to being searching for a husband."  
  
"I don't need a man right now." I said quietly.  
  
"Dear you cant be alone forever. Whatever I've done to make you afraid of relation-"  
  
"Dad!" I hissed, embarrassed to have this discussion again and even more embarrassed for it to be in front of everyone. "I'm 16 years old. I'm not even legal. I don't need anyone. You are so old-fashioned. God if-"  
  
"Watch your tongue." He said sharply. I shut my mouth and glared at the ocean again. I almost thought I'd be able to keep my cool until he had to go and bring that up. His next comment though really was uncalled for and low and was said quietly so not to interrupt my mother and her conversation. "You've just turned down every fine man we've introduced you to. Should we...well heaven forbid should we be introducing you to women?"  
  
Something in me cracked. Instead of yelling or crying or causing a scene, I laughed. I laughed because the situation was funny. The things he said were funny. I couldn't take this man serious anyway. I calmly put my napkin on my plate and excused myself, still snickering, and walked across the bridge and toward the docks. As I walked I looked out at the horizon to keep my eyes from wondering back to the luncheon, and recognized a ship sailing across my vision.  
  
I paid no mind as I sat myself on the wooden planks of the dock. I truly was immune to my father's verbal attacks. I'd had not feelings toward him since...since I could remember. I was sure the feeling was mutual. My mother was oblivious to our dislike of each other...or maybe she just didn't want to see it. Whatever it was, I didn't really mind. I could now see Riku approaching cautiously, probably thrown off by my smile. "Hey Riku." I greeted when he reached me.  
  
He leaned against the dock and looked up at me. "Hey. All's well?"  
  
"Super."  
  
"Your dad sure didn't look super."  
  
"Tough crunchies for him huh?" I shrugged, earning a true laugh from my friend. A comfortable silence fell between us.  
  
"You know you'll find someone Kairi. Don't worry about what your dad says." He attempted to soothe what he probably thought was a hurt daughters feelings.  
  
"Yeah I know." I said quickly, passing him a grateful glance. HE nodded and fell silent again, looking as though he felt much better. I glanced over to see my parents had left the lunch early to leave the couple who were deep in their conversation.  
  
"Want me to walk you home?" Riku offered me his arm suddenly.  
  
I accepted it but replied, "How about to yours instead?"  
  
(TBC)  
  
I meant for this to be longer and much more interesting, but I just had to get this started and posted since I have no idea when I'll be able to keep typing it up. Sorry for the boring beginning, it does get more interesting, but now you have an idea of Kairi's life in this different little fic.  
  
Hope you guys enjoy. Ps. Really sorry about any typos, as one of my stories, there's bound to be on or tow! 


	2. Fireworks Day

"Kairi. Wake up Kai." A deep voice called. I felt someone pushing my shoulder and opened my eyes. I peered into the familiar face of my silver-haired best friend and groaned. Yesterday flashed into my head. I would probably be in for a heck of a lecture for staying out all night with no prior notice especially with a boy.

It didn't really count since I had passed out on his floor last night and not with him. I expected the floor to greet me as I sat up but found I'd been moved to the couch with a pillow and blanket. "Morning." Riku said, getting off his knees and headed over to the window. I expected to hear the curtains pulled back but heard nothing. It was then I realized the sun wasn't even up yet, though Riku was completely dressed. I yawned and stretched my arms over my head.

"What time is it?" I asked, already looking to the large red clock on the wall.

"5:15. Look at this." He answered quickly as he pointed out his window to something. I shuffled over to him as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Are you always up this early?" I asked, my voice cracking with sleep. I was barely able to finish my sentence when I noticed the scene by the ocean's edge. I recognized the guards gathered around two people, too far away to see anything specific about them but close enough to see one was a guy and the other a girl. "What is it?"

"Looks like someone washed onshore." Riku replied.

"Obviously, but why the fuss. Why are they being arrested?" I squinted at the tiny mob and found that they were being let away in handcuffs.

"Must've been carrying weapons. Pirates maybe?" Riku looked contemplative for a moment, brow furrowed in his usual pensive way.

"Well I'll find out from my dad...providing he's still –not- talking to me." I added under my breath unpleasantly. He'd kill me for staying out before he'd explain what was going on with the two strangers. "I gotta get home anyway. My parents are gonna murder me."

"I called them last night after you fell asleep and explained what happened." Riku told me, turning away from the glass to face me. "Don't worry about it. Breakfast?"

"No, but thanks then." I smiled. "I should change." I muttered, glanceing at the boxers and too-big-t-shirt I was wearing. Riku's clothes.

"Don't worry about it." Riku repeated. "Wear em home. I'll get em back eventually. You want me to walk you home?" I knew the offer was genuine but I had to turn him down. I also knew that if I went home in Riku's clothes, presumptions would be assumed and I'd probably be in worse trouble so I did change back into my dress and thanked him for the night. The sun was slowly rising in the distance, painting the island with orange light. A few stray officers were walking toward me as they talked.

I heard their conversation. "Did you see the gun that girl carried?" The shorter, burlier officer asked.

His partner nodded and replied, "Who knows what they were planning with those sort of weapons. The boy put up a struggle too. I'm sure the mayor will have them locked up for along time."

"But if they meant to kill or steal, why were they asleep at the..." The pair were too far away to hear the rest of the conversation so I ran ahead, repeating their words inn my mind I didn't bother trying to sneak in quietly since they already knew where I'd been. The second I walked in the door my mother caught me.

"Kairi Elizabeth! Do you even know how worried we were?!" She exclaimed, turning a delicate shade of red. I'd expected and prepared for this. "We didn't know where you were! We called Riku's but no one answered."

"He called you and told you what had happened." I pointed out as non-smartass like as I possibly could have.

"Don't use that tone with me! You are so grounded."

"Grounded?" I pretended to be upset. I'd expected this too. Sure I'd be grounded today but tomorrow was a different day. She'd get busy and forget about me.

"Yes for a week. In your room. A week." Obviously she had no idea about and my father's conversation. Instead of bringing it up or arguing with my sentence I nodded ashamedly. She looked down at my disapprovingly for minute. I couldn't figure out if she wanted to yell at me some more or pull me into a quiet room to gossip about the recent arrestees. I was wrong with both guesses. She must have me a hug and moved on through the door, probably to find my father and inform him of my return. Whatever.

I raced upstairs into my sister's room. She didn't look up from her vanity, where she was carefully applying her mascara. "Hey Kairi." She said, dipping the brush into the small black container. I didn't even have to say anything she knew exactly what I wanted to know. "It's a boy and a girl. All I know is they both had serious weapons on them and fought arrest. They were found asleep at the ocean's edge. Right now they're in custody at the island's police station. That's all I know." She finished her left eye and screwed the cap onto the bottle of black goo and put it in her make-up bag.

"Thanks." I sat on her bed, aware of the fact I was still in that stupid wrinkled sundress. "Did Xander..." I paused, trying to think of a way to ask her about the proposal without asking her, in case he hadn't done it yet. "Well did he ask you...about...um, anything?" Sure, that didn't sound suspicious at all.

Charisma looked at me through the glass, a shadow of a smile flitting across her expressionless face. She held up her right hand to flash a large rock that rested on her ring finger. I shrieked and rushed over to hug her. "You knew he was going to propose and you didn't give me the heads up?" She pretended to be shocked.

I rolled my eyes. "You knew what was going on. I didn't have to tell you anything." I snapped back, pushing her shoulder playfully. She just smiled, not denying or admitting to my accusation. "When is the wedding, when are you moving out, and when can I have your room?!"

----

"Here. Take this down to the guards at the prison." Mom handed me a large platter of hot dogs and buns. I looked at it for a second, wondering why in the world my mom was making the guards lunch.

"Don't they usually get their own?" I asked, shifting the plate in my hands.

"Its fireworks day Kairi. We can do something nice for them. Now hurry before it gets cold." She shooed me out the door and let it shut behind me. I scowled at it and headed down the steps behind out house. The prison was set a few minutes away, in the cluster of palm trees behind our house. The large cement building came into view, a vast difference from the island cheery, wooden, sandy features. It was a bleak place both inside and out.

I enticed the men at the front with food and they allowed me in. I entered the dim corridor and followed it past the doors of officers until I came to Henderson, an old guard who'd known me since forever. He spent his time with the prisoners, until they were shipped off to Trapper Island for their final sentence.

"I came bearing lunch." I announced. He looked up with his old, tired eyes and smiled.

"Thanks Miss Kairi." He addressed me as miss; though I'd asked him countless times to just call me Kairi. He helped himself to a couple hot dogs as I surveyed the room of cages. All but two were empty.

"Not many people to look after. I commented breezily, trying to strike up a conversation. He nodded, jerking his head to an empty cell.

"Shipped off to Trapper Island a few days ago. Next boat comes next week, for those two." I glanced automatically at the cells that were occupied. In one there was a young man, asleep on his cot with his blanket pulled to his eyes, leaving spiky brown hair visible. I glanced at the other cell and realized with a jolt that the woman was watching me from her own cot with deep, purple eyes. I couldn't help staring at her; her gaze was keeping me caught. "That one's Yuffie. She's a starer but no worries Miss Kairi, she's harmless." Henderson saw my look and reassured me.

"I can totally hear you." Yuffie said, cocking her head to the left. Her intense look shifted to Henderson. Her expression softened as she smiled, lighting up her face and showing her young age. She might have been a year or two older than me.

"Yeah well you know you stare." He called loudly in an almost friendly tone. I was surprised at the ease with which the two addressed each other. The phone on Henderson's desk rang shrilly. "Hello?" He picked up the rest of his hot dog and shoved it into his mouth. "Uh huh? Ofay. Ofay. No I hab foo in my mouf." He swallowed and coughed. "Alright I'll be there." He hung up and looked at me with a half-smile. "Can you handle them for a minute? There's a gun in my drawer if anything happens." He added quietly as though I'd accepted.

I swallowed hard. "Okay." He left me, shutting the steel door behind him. "Ahem. So." I sat on the edge of the desk and clasped my hands uncomfortably.

"How about you send me one of those hot dogs." Yuffie nodded to the plate. It was still half-full.

"Didn't you already have lunch? I mean, my dad makes sure you eat three meals a day right?" I asked, flinching at the mention of my father. Yuffie snickered, flipping her black hair away from her face. She gave me one of those you're-so-naïve looks and replied,

"Your daddy feeds us dinner, and crackers in between." She had a sort of venom in her voice that I couldn't have mustered up even if I had wanted to. Even though it was my father she was directing it at, I was sort of in awe of her sweet face and spiteful worlds.

"Sorry about that then." I shrugged, reaching over to make her two hot dogs. When I handed it to her between the bars, I noticed how dull her eyes looked, yet how hungrily she accepted the food. A pang of guilt nearly made me sick to my stomach. "Did your brother want some?" I asked, glazing at the brown haired boy.

She snickered. "Brother. Is he asleep?" She asked between gulps. I nodded. "I see. SORA!" She yelled, causing me to jump in surprise. The boy grunted, looking up at me. He blinked, apparently processing my face. I did the same, studying his handsome but boyish features and startling blue eyes. A very attractive guy for a criminal. Those eyes shut suddenly as he groaned and covered his face.

"What the hell did you yell for?" He grumbled, rubbing his face tiredly.

"Cause she got you food." Yuffie finished off her 2nd hot dog and paused to take a breath. Sora's face seriously lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of food. I would be griping out my father over this food issue. I handed half of the hot dogs through the bars, where he stashed them under the blanket. The rest I gave to Yuffie, who hid them as well. "Thanks miss Kairi." Yuffie smirked.

"Kairi will do fine." I said dryly.

"Fine then Kairi. Tell us about this delightful little place we're being taken to. Trapper Island was it???" She leaned against the wall and put her foot against the cot.

"Has a nice spa I hope." Sora spoke up, watching me in the same way Yuffie was; interested. Footsteps from the corridor told me Henderson was back.

"I...I have to go." And suddenly I wanted nothing more than to get away from their easy stares.

"Oh pity." Yuffie cocked her head to the side slightly and smile. "Please visit us sometime. I really appreciate the hot dogs." She added as an afterthought. Sora nodded in agreement, giving me a smile.

I nodded quickly. "I will." I nearly whispered. The door opened.

"You give her any trouble?" Henderson asked the second he walked in.

"No trouble at all." I told him, clutching the empty plate. "Bye Henderson." I walked past him, avoiding his eyes. "Okay? Bye." Before the door closed I heard him ask,

"What happened to all those hot dogs?"

---

A/N: A small amount of Sora. Sorry about the long delay...still no computer. Die. Okay. So thanks for the reviews all!


	3. Them

"Kairi! Wait up!" I clutched the strings of the bag a little tighter after hearing Riku's familiar voice. "Going for a walk?" He asked, pausing next to me. I could see from his athletic clothes and slightly erratic breathing that he had been on his morning run. I also knew that his 'morning run' didn't go past my house.

"Sure. What're you doing here?" I asked as I let the bag of food fall inconspicuously behind my back. Riku ran a hand though his hair and smiled.

"Just came by to see you. Didn't talk to you yesterday." His eyes traveled to the bag and then to the trees where I was headed. His eyebrows peaked a little but he didn't say anything. Neither of us did.

Finally I cracked. "It's food for the two prisoners." I sighed. Riku blinked.

It was obviously not the answer he'd been expecting. "Uh....explain please?" He peered at the bag. I held it out for him to examine. Two biscuits, two small containers of jelly and other various food items that wouldn't spoil easily such as crackers, packets of gummy bears, etc.

"My dad doesn't keep them well fed and they...seem nice? I felt bad for them!" I added when Riku gave me a 'riiiiiight' sort of look. "You didn't see how hungry they seemed...I mean...I don't know."

"Kairi. Whatever. I don't care. I'll just come with you." Riku interrupted, shaking his head at me.

I frowned and snatched the bag from his hands. "Don't give me that look." I grumbled, smiling despite my attempt to remain serious.

He snickered. "There was no look Kai. See?" He tagged along behind me. I could almost hear the smirk directed at my turned back. I convinced the guards to let me in to see Henderson, all the while plotting my plan to get Henderson out and my provisions to the prisoners.

The head guard took care of that for me. "When you leave, have Henderson come see me for a minute please."

That took care of that. I relayed the message to Henderson, who took no notice of the bag I was carrying. He seemed a little distracted when he left, once again leaving me in the prison. This time I had Riku with me and I didn't feel quite so nervous. Yuffie noticed him right away and stared just as she had with me. Riku was obviously put off by her gaze, fidgeting with his hair.

"I come bearing food. Quickly though, before Henderson shows back up." I let my eyes wander to Sora's cell as I pulled out the food from the bag. His stare wasn't quite as intense as Yuffie's but he was definitely checking me out. Not in that way, unfortunately. Unfortunately?! I reprimanded myself for thinking like that. He was a criminal, though he was a very cute criminal.

"More food? Well I'm surprised at you Kairi." Yuffie smiled at me. "And grateful."

"Thanks but I've still got a hot dog left, thanks to you of course." Sora politely tried to turn down my offerings for some unknown reason but I certainly wasn't giving up that easily.

I snorted. "Show me." I demanded. He reached under the bed and pulled out (what I hoped was) a clean pair of underwear and rolled out the slightly green and linty hot dog. I grimaced. "Let me see that." I crossed over to the bars and put my hand through, open palmed. I didn't even stop to consider the danger of this action, but Riku did.

"Kairi." He nearly gasped, reaching for me. I retracted my hand instinctively and was surprised to see Sora laugh.

"That can't be sanitary. Give me the hot dog." I shot a warning glance to Riku as if to say back-off. He did. Sora looked sort of disappointed.

"Damn. Knew I shouldn't have tried to save it." He grumbled, climbing off his cot. I noticed just how tall he was at full height. Still shorter than Riku, but a head taller than me. He deposited the hot dog in my hand like a reprimanded child.

"Thank you." I said briskly, turning to hide the warm feeling I felt in my face. He didn't even put up a fight about it...maybe he wanted me to demand the hot dog from him...maybe that's why his hand lingered on mine a little longer than it should have...and maybe I was reading more into it than anyone should have and I was simply showing my young age. That sounded right. I disposed of the nasty meat and passed both of them my supply as evenly and quickly as I could. "I doubt I'll be so lucky to get Henderson out of here again, so make it last. Without putting it in underwear." I added pointedly to Sora.

"Sorry. My fridge is out for repairs." He retorted sarcastically.

"That's why these are foods that don't spoil easily." I didn't even blink as I answered. "And don't act like this big victim. You're here for a reason." I just had to open my mouth again. The words were out before I could steal them back; I had no choice but to let them hang.

Sora arched an eyebrow perfectly, a feat few could do, and nearly smiled. "Do you know that reason princess?"

"My name's not princess." I said automatically.

"We aren't the big criminals. We aren't pirates or robbers or murderers. We simply washed up on the wrong shore."

"With serious weapons." I added doubtfully.

"Don't tell me you don't have a knife or gun stashed away in your room. As the rich, mayor's daughter I'm sure you've had plenty of sword fighting lessons or martial arts training. We don't assume about you." He looked so smug, like he just knew he was right, like he just had me pegged. I had taken sword fighting lessons but I definitely didn't have any weapons in my room.

"I don't thank you very much." I gave him an equally smug glare. He grinned at me good-naturedly. I looked away then and noticed Yuffie still had her eyes locked on Riku, but it was no longer a threatening gaze. It was more like a friendly stare, like a friend studying a friend's new haircut.

The doors clinked and I heard Henderson's voice call from the hallway, "Miss Kairi? Is everything okay?" He poked his head in at that moment. I quickly hopped onto the desk to hide the empty bag and smiled brightly. If I thought that would fool him for a second...I was right. He seemed to look right through me.

"Fine." I answered.

"Good. I'll only be a little while longer. Okay?"

"You bet sir." I nodded, holding my smile until he left the room completely. Then I exhaled and hopped off the desk. "So you wanna tell me the real reason you're stuck in here?" I looked expectantly at Sora for the explanation.

He started at me for a minute. Then he sighed. "I shouldn't." There was a long pause. Obviously he wasn't going to tell me. "But I guess I might as well."

"Sora?" Yuffie glanced at the concrete wall set between them questioningly.

"We might as well. We're being shipped off to Killer Island in a few days anyway."

"Trapper Island." I corrected. Sora just looked at me again. Suddenly I felt like a five year old that had just announced something well-known and naive and Sora was the amused adult.

"Yeah. Anyway, we're from the other side of the ocean, not another world mind you, but across the ocean. We aren't the bad guys here."

"Not to sound all drama of the week, but we were the one's trying to save your asses from Them before we got....lost in the ocean." Yuffie interrupted. Sora laughed, but there was no humor in his eyes. They looked empty...sad.

"Them?" Riku asked quietly, breaking the sudden and uncomfortable silence. I felt sudden anticipation, like I was listening to an old fairytale that had just gotten to its climax. Who was Them?

"Them. Heartless. Hell of fight, heartless are. They can cause some heavy damage before you realize what hit you." Yuffie frowned at the wall. "Show them Sora." Sora's eyes widened for a second, looking at the wall as though it was speaking in tongues. Yuffie rolled her eyes as if she knew exactly what his reaction had been. "Just take off your stupid shirt." She demanded in true 'me' fashion.

Riku must've thought the same thing because he smirked at me. "Shut up." I muttered at him. Sora glanced at me but self-consciously lifted his shirt to reveal a tanned and well built stomach. He stood up again and turned around, revealing a nasty scar that didn't look completely healed. I grimaced. "Lord did you have stitches or...did you put any disinfectant on it at all?" Sora shook his head. "That could have like...killed you! That's a serious mark Sora, you need medical attention."

Sora lowered his shirt and sank back onto his cot, looking slightly red and a little ashamed. "The heartless I was fighting did it when it through me overboard. They'd invaded the ship. Yuffie dove in after me but no one else came to 'my rescue'. The captain always said 'What's one man when you can save two?'" He rolled his eyes. "If I could just see that-"

"Sora." Yuffie cut him off rather shortly and wrapped up the conversation with, "That's the reason we were armed." I had so many questions but there was a finality in her voice that even I was hesitant to argue with.

"Are the heartless still around?" Riku asked. Apparently he didn't care.

"I'm sure." Yuffie replied. That made me feel a whole lot...worse.

"Well. Just explain what happened to someone that matters and get out of here. You didn't do anything wrong - assuming you're telling the truth." I responded and looked at Riku for support. Instead, he looked deep in thought.

Sora snorted. "You really think your daddy would believe -"

"If there's one thing you better figure out, its that I'm not a snobby little daddy's girl. Knock it off. And yeah, my dad's an ass but he's fair. I think." There was a silence that followed but I didn't feel responsible. I'd made my point.

"Well Miss Kairi?" The steel door opened, revealing Henderson, whose simple and cheery smile told me he hadn't heard a word. "Have they given you much trouble?"

"None at all. Is it alright if we leave now or are you still talking?" I figured my upbeat and casual tone surprised the others but I didn't dare glance their way to find out.

Henderson nodded as he sat back in his chair and took a sip of his coffee. "Yep. Thank you both." He winked at Riku and I before we left. I walked out the door without so much as a glimpse at Sora, but I felt his eyes on me every step of the way.

BREAK

"Dad? Dad!" I opened the heavy wooden door without bothering to knock. Dad's office was filled with family pictures (for appearance sake), a few diplomas, a couple chairs, and a large wooden desk.

"Kairi?" My dad raised his head and looked at me over his glasses in quiet disbelief. "What are you doing here?" He slowly got to his feet, studying me skeptically. It had to have been over a year since I'd stepped foot inside this room. He must have been thinking the same thing.

"Dad." I ignored his question and plowed ahead with my request. "You have to let Sora and Yuffie go. They aren't dangerous and they didn't mean any harm. It was all a misunderstanding and they were fighting the heartless and they fell overboard and then you put them in jail unfairly." I stopped to breath and let my words sink in. It wasn't the most graceful approach but it was the bones of the matter.

Dad pulled off his glasses and put them on the desk in slow, calculated movements. "How do you know all this?" He asked, his eyes tired.

I flopped into a chair and ran my hands through my hair. It was a habit I was picking up from Riku. "I took some hot dogs to the guards yesterday but Henderson needed to go talk to the others so he had me sit with the prisoners and," I glared at him during this part of the speech. "You should have seen how hungry they were. I thought you fed them well dad! They were starving. So today I took them a few more things and they told me about the reason they came to Destiny Islands and you were wrong to put them in jail. You cant send them to Trapper Island for something they didn't do! What evidence do you have that they were planning something?" I demanded.

My father's eyes were wide, staring at me as though I'd grown 2 heads. I guess I could have slowed down a little and tried to speak in more complete sentences and less run-ons. He sank into his chair and sighed. "Kairi." He began carefully...wearily. "How do you know these people aren't lying to you? They could be saying anything to get you to trust them enough to let them out. Maybe they targeted you because you're soft-hearted enough to have sympathy-"

"You haven't met them. You don't know them! They're MY age for heavens sake!" I cut in heatedly.

"Kairi I'm only trying to..."

"Dad. I promise you these people aren't dangerous." I knew this was a long shot, and I knew somewhere deep inside these people could have been lying to me but I just couldn't believe it. I suddenly realized how ridiculous this whole idea was in the first place. How could I have expected him to do anything about it? I shook my head in defeat. He'd won the battle but not the war. I wouldn't let innocent people be shipped off to Trapper Island, whether I did it the legal way or not.

TBC

And now! The boringness ends. The rest of the story gets better. I just had to get all the boring beginning out of the way. There will be Yuriku and Sokairi fluff from here on out.


	4. Heartless

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_Prison Bound_

_Chapter 4: Heartless_

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I awoke to the frantic yells of my mother. "Kairi get up! Hurry!" The pounding on my door intensified for a moment before moving on down the hall. I pulled on my robe and stepped into the bright hallway.

"What the hell!" Charisma's door flew open to reveal a seriously upset tangle of hair. "Are you drunk mother? It's 5 in the morning!" She hissed.

I was tempted to laugh but I was too preoccupied with the terrified expression on mom's face. "Go downstairs with your father. It's safe there." She ushered us down the stairs, looking over her shoulder nervously. _What in the world…_

"What's going on?" I was aware of gunfire outside, occasionally accompanied by wild yelling.

"Something's here. They're…things. They don't…they just appear." Mom explained hastily, pushing a blonde lock of hair behind her ear. Her nervous habit.

The Heartless? My mind reeled, replaying Sora's words. He never mentioned what they looked like; there was no way of knowing. "I need a flashlight." I said when we reached the living room. My father, who was standing at the window, turned to look at me. I ignored him and passed to the drawer, where I knew we kept miscellaneous junk.

"What?" My mom squeaked like a frightened mouse. "You aren't going out there Kairi Elizabeth! Those things will…will kill you! I refuse to let you go-"

"Got it." I held up the small black tube and tested the batteries. It worked. "I'll be back. Stay inside." I tried to sound like I knew what I was doing and I re-tied my robe tighter around me. Sora would know what to do. I hoped I would survive long enough to at least _get_ to Sora…

Mom grabbed my wrist and pulled me back into the living room with them. "Don't even think about it." She glared at me and snatched the flashlight out of my hand. "They'll kill you."

"They'll kill all of us if I don't go!" I argued. It was the closest I'd ever been to actually wanting to knock my mother down. Not to hurt her, of course, but to get her out of the way.

"Mother, look!" Charisma cried, pointing out the window. A large, black shadow-like creature ran across the front lawn. Mom, distracted, hurried over to stand by my father. I took the opportunity to slip out, mentally noting to thank Charisma later.

They didn't notice til I reached the back door, when I heard my dad roar, "Kairi! Get back here!" I ignored him of course, letting the screen door slam shut. I prayed they wouldn't run after me. Odds were, they wouldn't. For once I was grateful to have a family that didn't care as much as they should have.

I hurried though the dark, dodging officers and guards and panicked people as they cut through our backyard. Every once in a while I would get glimpses of unnaturally black shadows in the distance, but they never came toward me. By the time I reached the woods, I was a terrified mess. The only thing that kept me from assuming the fetal position was the light of the cement prison building. That's when I ran. I was barefoot and it hurt like hell but I figured a few stick scrapes were better than having one of those heartless doing to me what they did to Sora.

I was so relieved to be so close to safety that I forgot to be alert of my surroundings. I felt something grab my arm. My heart stopped but luckily my voice didn't. "GET OFF OF ME!" I shrieked, nearly breaking my own eardrums. I swung my fist wildly, hoping to at least catch the thing off guard.

The punch connected with flesh, eliciting a rather aggravated growl. "OW! Damn it Kairi!" Riku's growl. I froze in a combination of relief and rage. He dragged me out of the woods and into the light. "Get in the building!" He pushed me through the unguarded doors.

"I'm sorry! Why didn't you give me warning?" I exclaimed when I saw the large, purple mark forming on Riku's arm. He was lucky I was a crappy shot or he could have ended up with a black eye.

He noticed it and scowled. "I didn't want to attract anything. Your screaming probably did anyway." I frowned.

He was right, I should have been a little quieter. He deserved the bruise though for scaring me. "Whatever, lets just go." I said, rolling my eyes. We rushed down the corridor toward the back, where the prisoners were.

"Had the same idea as I had huh?" Riku glanced at a door as we passed, labeled 'Evidence Room'. "I'll stop and grab their weapons so they can fight." He reached for the handle.

"What? We're letting them out." I asked, a little shocked.

"What did you think?" Riku asked as he disappeared inside the room. "We were just gonna have a friendly conversation? Here, catch." He tossed out a large sword. I caught the hilt awkwardly and studied it. The blade was long and razor sharp, with a black and silver handle. A key chain hung off the back of it, a small black mushroom.

"No. No I just thought…I didn't think." I knew Riku was right so I just let myself stop before I embarrassed myself any further. Riku re-appeared, holding a pistol in one hand and two large star-like blades. He kicked the door shut and shook his head at me. I ignored him and tried to hurry to the cell room. The sword Riku had given me was way way heavy. Once we reached our destination, I found a pacing Sora and an obviously frustrated Yuffie. Her fingers were entangled in her hair, her frame hunched down by the wall, eyes shut.

Sora walked back and forth, eyes cast downward while muttering to himself. They both looked up at the same time, both with relief. "Kairi! Let us out of here." Sora grabbed the bars and looked at me almost pleadingly.

"My plan exactly." I said, letting the sword against the wall and headed for the bars. I was too busy hoping Riku wouldn't mention that it hadn't in fact been my plan to let them out, that I didn't realize until I was in front of the lock that I didn't have any keys.

"Shit. I'll be Henderson's got em." Riku realized my dilemma at the same time.

"Shoot the lock then." Yuffie was nervously bouncing on the balls of her feet, watching us closely.

Riku glanced at the gun in his hand skeptically. "I doubt that'd work-"

He was interrupted by a shrill scream just outside of the front and the sound of many gunshots following. "Do it." Sora said, reaching through the bars toward me. His hand rested on my forearm and pushed me away. "Back up." He added to me quietly as he did. I stepped back and Riku took ahold of me instead.

"Get behind me." He ordered, so I did. His first shot was barely off target, but the second hit dead on. The iron lock was jarred just enough that the both of them could pull it back. They did the same for Yuffie, but it went much quicker this time. As they took up their weapons, I realized I was empty-handed. I remembered Henderson mentioning a gun if I had any trouble with Sora or Yuffie. Sure enough, I found a pistol matching Riku's in the top drawer.

Riku took one look at the gun and gave me a look. "No. I'm getting you home safe and sound." He reached for the weapon.

I saw Yuffie roll her eyes at him. "Noble much?" She murmured sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. Riku glanced at her briefly, shaking off the comment.

"I can shoot monsters just as easily as you Riku, it's not that hard." I glared indignantly. I tried to march past him only to be stopped yet again, this time by Sora.

"Have you fought before?" He asked skeptically, taking in my 5-foot frame.

I scowled. "We're wasting time. I can shoot a damned gun. Now lets go!" I shoved past both of them and stalked out the door as proudly as I could (considering I was barefoot in a pair of boxers, tank top, and now open robe).

As I went, I heard Yuffie say, "Ah let her go. She's got enough fire in her to fight her own battles." I was extremely grateful to Yuffie at that moment for sticking up for me. I couldn't say I wasn't terrified of whatever these Heartless could do, I just wasn't gonna say it in front of them. I also figured that in a pack of four, each well armed, I'd be fairly safe.

"Let's split up." Sora suggested as soon as we'd stepped foot out of the building.

My head turned so fast I nearly got dizzy. "_Excuse_ me?"

Yuffie snorted. "You can come with me. You'll be fine." She grabbed the hand I wasn't carrying a gun with and led me away from the others.

"I thought you defeated these Heartless guys. What're they doing here?" I tried to keep up with her, thankful we'd hit the sand and left the woods. Up ahead, I got a first real glimpse of my new enemy…and a taste of the pain of its claws. One had sneaked up behind us and took its chance at me. I gasped, dropping the gun accidentally as I stumbled forward. I could feel its claws retract and slide out of my back.

"Shit!" Yuffie cried, jumping in front of me as the thing tried to get me again. She ducked his attack and threw one of her stars at its head. It stuck in the monster's forehead, knocking it back a few feet. It screeched in pain as Yuffie picked up the gun I'd dropped and aimed at the head again. It went off and struck the Heartless. Its large, black body shuddered and fell backward, yellow eyes closing. "You okay?" Yuffie looked down at me. I closed my fingers around the gun and nodded. "Good." She helped me to my feet. "And in response to your question, these guys were programmed to kill everyone on that ship, plus some. Somehow they must know two of us escaped, but they lack the ability to discern us from innocents."

The Heartless ahead of us came lumbering toward us, looking for a fight. "You knew they would come for you?" I asked, eyeing the monster. It was approaching fast.

"We weren't sure." She replied and stepped over the body of the dead monster, plucking her star out of its head. She threw it flawlessly, hitting it right in the heart. It stumbled as the other had, staring down at the sharp metal. "Shoot!" Yuffie cried.

I took aim automatically and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit its stomach, which I thought was really good for me. Until it began to run for us again, now enraged. Yuffie snatched the gun out of my hands and hit the monster once again in the skull. It fell. "Don't worry about the rest of it, you've gotta get the head-" She glanced over at me and cut her sentence off. "You sure you're okay? You don't look so good." Her eyes traveled to the back of my shirt. I felt the sticky wetness of my back and knew I'd lost a lot of blood. Stitches would be a sure bet. The loss of blood had to be what was causing my dizzyness.

"Fine. Just kill the rest of 'em." I nodded. A scream cut through me. We turned simultaneously, looking for the source. A young girl I knew was being tormented by two of the creatures. "Yuffie c'mon-" I stopped abruptly, hearing her short gasp. When I glanced behind me to see what the problem was I found a Heartless had found her and was trying to strangle her. I don't even know how I did it or how I knew to do it, I just did. I shot twice and hit both times, each right above the eyes. It cried in pain and let Yuffie go.

She fell at the same time as the monster, her throat black and purple. She looked to be unconscious. "Help!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, not knowing what else to do. I couldn't get her to safety and help the girl at the same time. I stood over Yuffie's oblivious body protectively and looked toward the girl. I raised the gun and shot…missing completely. "Help!" I yelled again. An officer had taken one out, but was wrestling with the other. I aimed again, moving closer and praying to God that I would hit. This time I didn't miss.

The officer looked at me as the Heartless fell, then at the crying girl. He picked her up and ran. I turned back to Yuffie and screamed desperately. "_SOMEONE HELP_!" I began shooting at the monster trying to take her, hoping I could pull another miracle. A long, cold finger wrapped around my own neck. I fought mercilessly against the Heartless, but it didn't seem to matter. It was much stronger than I was. A culmination of terror and lack of oxygen united against me at once and I blacked out.

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When I was semi-conscious again I noticed I was being carried. And there was sunlight. "No." I mouthed, unable to open my eyes or make a sound. What if those things had captured us…what if Yuffie was dead? "No…Yuffie!" I found my voice, though slightly hoarse. I successfully caught my captor by surprise and fell out of its arms.

"Kairi!" It sounded a lot like the concerned voice of Riku, not the guttural growl of the Heartless. I hit the sand, cushioned somewhat by the pair of hands catching me under the arms. Pain shot through my back. I remembered the claws and the blood and the screaming at once. "Christ Kairi, you could have given me a heart attack." Riku leaned down and scooped me up again. I didn't bother to argue, grateful for the lessened pressure on my back. I caught a glimpse of Sora.

He was walking a little slower, his arms around the waist of…Yuffie! She was pale and bruised but alive and walking (with Sora's help). Sora himself looked unharmed. "Riku." I looked up, scanning his face. He glanced down at me. "You're hurt?' I asked.

He shook his head. "We found you both just in time though. It could have been much worse." A hint of a grimace passed over his face, leading me to believe he was lying about being unharmed. I rested my head against his chest and noticed blood on his shirt.

I gasped. "You liar! You are hurt! Put me down, I'll walk! Look I'm home already!" I struggled despite my wounds. Riku was stronger and now prepared for my protests. Needless to say, I didn't escape.

"Kairi." He looked at me sternly, walking up the steps. Something in his voice made me stop fighting and allow him to carry me.

My mom flew out the front door to greet us, eyes filled with tears and voice full of anxiety. "Kairi! Kairi, my baby thank the heavens you're okay." She sobbed. Riku put me on the ground, helping me stay upright.

"Mom knock it off! You make it sound like you thought I was dead!" I pushed her away, embarrassed by the whole situation. She saw my blood, Riku's blood, and the former prisoners standing weakly at the bottom of the steps and nearly broke into tears again.

"All of you, come on in here. There may be more…Alexander! Get in here!" She yelled for my dad, helping Sora help Yuffie up the stairs.

Charisma flew out, followed at a much slower pace by my father. He looked stressed. I'll bet he was. Charisma took half a glance at us and spun around to go back inside. Probably to get medicine and call a doctor. "Kairi, Riku." He greeted us, then nodded to the newcomers. "A nasty wound there." He noticed my ripped robe.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Sora squint at my father uncertainly, then look at me. I wished I could tell what he was thinking. As Charisma flitted into the living room with peroxide and tended to Yuffie, dad pulled mom into the kitchen privately. I leaned down and bit my lip hard to keep from crying out as I straightened. I felt a pair of hands carefully pull at my robe. Riku. I pulled it off myself and crumpled it up, knowing it wasn't going to be salvageable.

He looked at the cuts in my back, frowning. "Am I dying?" I asked jokingly.

Sora took a glance and shut his eyes for a second. "Stitches." He said when he opened them, staring straight into mine. "You'll hurt but you'll live." He smiled at me sympathetically, showing a kind side he hadn't yet revealed to me. Yuffie gasped with pain just then as Charisma applied the stinging disinfectant to her shallow scrapes. Sora turned his eyes toward her and flinched. "You're lucky. It could've been worse." I heard him say quietly, bending onto his knees in front of her.

"Hmm." She muttered, glaring at the battle wounds. She smiled suddenly and said, "You're right. Once I get some sleep, I'll be good as new." Even Charisma looked at her strangely. She didn't wince at all while Charisma finished working, maintaining an upbeat mood. It seemed strange for her to be so positive after nearly being strangled to death. The bruises around her neck were so angry looking. Sora never seemed to revert back to the tired, bitter Sora either. It was like being out of their cells for the short couple of hours had made them different people.

Before Charisma had time to start in on me or mom had time to get us to the hospital I was dozing off right where I stood. Carefully I sat down and rested my head against my knees, growing more and more sore. "Don't you go to sleep yet. You could have a concussion." I faintly remember hearing Charisma's authoritative voice ring through the room before I was completely dead to the world.

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_A/N: Sorry about the long break. I got wrapped up with Midnight Moonlight. That'll be over soon and I'll be able to get this typed. All that's left of this story is fluff anyway. –Is so excited-_

_Reviewer thanks:_

_**Meranii**_

_**Lord Hiro**_

_**Hikari of Hearts: **No, my dad's not like that in real life. Thank you for reassuring me that his character is believable though! _

_**Shady Jane**_

_**Braken-fae**_

_**Yuffiegal23**_

_**AeRiSdOnO**_

_**October Breeze**_


	5. Smile!

_A/N: Onward, semi-fluff!_

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"Good morning." The cheerful chirp of Charisma jarred me out of my sleepy trance. Correction, her _unusually_ cheerful chirp. I looked at her strangely, easing into a chair. The table was set with breakfast: eggs, toast, waffles, and juice. And a lot of it. I sat back without thinking and immediately straightened with a yelp. My back was killing me.

"Do we have company?" I asked, praying the answer was no. I'd just rolled out of bed without a shower, make-up, or a change of clothes.

Charisma took her cup of coffee over to the table and sank down next to me. "We will be in a few minutes. Mom invited Yuffie and Sora." She smiled, sipping the bitter liquid. Panic must've shown on my face because my sister actually looked concerned. "Are you okay? Is it your back?" She started to stand up but I motioned for her to sit, standing myself.

"No I'm feeling better. I just have to…change." I backed up quickly, pushing the chair underneath the table.

Charisma relaxed, easing back with a smug smirk. "Okay." She chuckled knowing, which bugged me to no end. She didn't know. She thought she knew but she didn't know. Instead of calling her on it, I rushed up the stairs and locked myself in my room.

It had been 3 days since the incident and 3 days since I'd seen Sora or Yuffie. They let them out of prison the day of the attack, releasing them with an apology and a thank you for saving many lives, including mine. He'd – _they'd_ already seen me at my worst and I wasn't about to let that happen again. As I was brushing out my hair I realized I'd left my sister with them and judging by the smirk that had been on her face, she thought something was up. And she'd mention it.

Panic.

I cracked my door and sure enough I could hear voices downstairs. I decided that damage control would have to come later and finished dressing (paying special attention to the stitches on my back). I felt the twinge of depression creeping over me as I thought once again of the scars that I was going to have. The four long gashes would cause stares for the rest of my life.

I shook it away and pulled my hair into a short ponytail. I was presentable. What I hadn't been counting on was the entrance, forgetting I'd have to walk in with everyone already there. Charisma's mouth had definitely been running because everyone _but_ Sora greeted me as I sat down (next to my mother luckily). There was no conversation when I walked in and there was no effort to start one now. My father cleared his throat and rustled his newspaper but that was the extent of his contribution.

We all ate our fill, politely asking for salt or pepper every once in a while. At one point near the end of the meal someone sneezed (I was busy shredding a napkin in my lap so I wasn't paying attention) which sent a chorus of 'bless you's around the table. When I did look up, I took in the uncomfortable faces of Sora and Yuffie, the relaxed expression of Charisma, and the oblivious stare of my mother. I couldn't see my father's face for the morning paper.

The silence was driving me insane. "So Charisma." I began. "Where's Xander?"

She looked up at me with the same smile as before. "I'm meeting him for lunch. WE're starting plans for the wedding." She looked dreamy-eyed for a second. "But anyway." She sighed, shaking away the look and standing up to clear her dishes.

"Do you have any plans today Kairi?" Mom asked, pulling out of her trance.

I paused, knowing I didn't. I'd spent the last 3 days lying around and nursing my injuries. I was getting a little restless. "Probably to visit Riku." I quickly turned to our somewhat ignored guests. "What about you guys?" I smiled at them both brightly in an attempt to look friendly. I was starting to feel sort of guilty for not talking to them, though their uncomfortable appearance made it a little intimidating.

Yuffie looked glad when I spoke up though and shook her head, which gave me a push of confidence. "No plans for me." Sora nodded in agreement with Yuffie, giving me a quiet grin.

I glanced back at my plate shyly, hating myself for not making a cute remark or not being able to control the blood rushing to my face. "Do you want to come with me? I'm sure Riku wouldn't mind."

I had barely gotten the sentence out before Yuffie answered with an eager, "Sure!" Sora and I both looked at her and grinned. She looked embarrassed. "I mean, if you're sure." She corrected. I didn't have a problem with her coming along at all. Sora continued grinning as he elbowed his red-faced friend lightly. "Shut up." She hissed under her breath.

I coughed to hide my laughter, only attracting attention from my father (a death glare counts as attention). "Then I'll go put on some shoes and I'll be right down." I didn't bother to 'excuse' myself (not like anyone cared) and came back down a few minutes later. "We're going now. Don't expect me back anytime soon." I announced, leaving my family on their own.

"Okay, be careful." Mom said habitually. Dad didn't bother to acknowledge me. Shock and surprise.

"Hey um." Sora said when we'd shut the front door and were safely out of hearing range. "Kairi?" I stopped to look at him. "Your dad. He's um…well he's not exactly…"

"Fatherly?" Yuffie supplied, studying me as she did.

I wasn't offended at all. Instead I laughed. "No he hasn't been. Kind of a jerk, ya know?" I answered with a shrug. "What brought it up?"

Sora looked away, toward the ocean. "No reason." He sighed.

"Well, I noticed it." Yuffie chirped. "Call me crazy but if my daughter came in attacked and bleeding, I wouldn't just say 'oh nasty wound there' or whatever. Am I right? Huh?" Yuffie looked at me and I nodded. Sora wasn't paying attention, so she shoved him out of step. "Wake up loverboy."

He sent a hard look her way. "What?"

"Where're you at? A million miles away?"

"Oh. Yeah." He smiled. "Sorry, You were saying?"

"She was saying-" I cut in, walking backwards so I could face them. "That my did isn't exactly…a dad.' I smiled at her. "Right?"

She looked momentarily ashamed. "Uh Kairi, I don't mean that in a…a bad way really-" She stumbled over her words, trying to apologize. "I mean, I'm sure your dad is a great-"

I shook my head and sent her a reassuring grin. I reached out to try to stop her and tell her there had been no offense taken but walking backward had caught up with me and I hit something solid…a tree. "Ow!" I grumbled as pain shot through my sores. "Why didn't you tell me-" I started to blame my new friends when I heard laughter from a distance. I knew who it was even before I saw him.

"That was excellent Kai." Riku's teasing voice drifted over. I scowled, ignoring the ache of my hurt pride.

"Oh ha ha. Make fun of the hurt one – oh sure." I turned and was startled to find him right behind me.

He saw me jump and laughed again. "So what're you guys up to?"

I fell back into line with the others and looked over at him with my hands on my hips, still miffed at his mocking. Yuffie had just gone oddly quiet. Sora was the only one that answered him. "Just coming to see you apparently."

"Me? Why's that?"

"I dunno. Yuffie wanted-" The sentence was cut off just like his air supply. Yuffie had jammed her elbow into his gut in a desperate (and hilarious) attempt to keep him from embarrassing her further. "_Ow_!" He said pointedly, glaring up at his friend. Yuffie shrugged innocently. I was too busy cracking up to intervene.

Riku chuckled. "So what, are you guys together?" He crossed his arms over his chest. I thought that was a rather personal query myself but neither of them seemed to mind.

In fact, when they looked at each other Yuffie instantly began to roll with laughter, clutching her sides and everything. Sora grinned somewhat cheesily and shook his head. "No way."

"In _hell_." Yuffie wheezed.

Riku even had to smile. "Good." He murmured, smiling a little wider as his eyes rested on the still giggling Yuffie. I raised an eyebrow, putting two and two together. _Somebody_ had a crush and it wasn't 'kaiwi'. Yuffie ended up with a breath shortage and tears in her eyes but she seemed rather happy to have admitted it. Another sudden realization dawned on me as Yuffie glanced up at Riku. It was the way her eyes sparkled whens he looked at him and the very obvious blush across her nose.

Holy effin' cow! She had a crush too! I looked to Sora to see if he had noticed the sudden tension that had formed between the couple. He had and considering his expression, it was a new revelation for him as well. Our eyes locked and I had the urge to laugh myself. "Well." I giggled. "I think I'm gonna go walk…somewhere o-or something." I slipped away from the lovebirds.

"Oh I'll follow." Sora nearly ran to escape the ignorant couple. We werent't even out of earshot when the laughter began. "Did you know?" He asked, scratching his head as he looked back at them. At the moment, they were talking fairly shyly to one another.

"No! When did it happen? That's…that's like love at first sight right there!" I gasped. I was so extremely happy for them that it was surprising.

Sora chuckled quietly. "Yeah." He looked forward and shoved his hands into his pockets, half-smiling. "Yeah."

"Yeah? You don't sound happy." I tried to catch his eye. "Are you sure you and Yuffie weren't-"

"Hah no, not at all. I'm happy." He assured me, sending another cheesy smile my way. Something about this one put me at complete and total ease with him. I decided I loved that smile. "So." He looked back down, serious again.

I couldn't seem to _stop_ smiling and, terrified he would notice, I looked the opposite direction and tried to pull my face back to normal. "Yeah so." I repeated, kicking the sand. "How's your back?" I asked.

"Fine. I should ask you the same. Those looked pretty deep." He nodded toward the cuts.

I shrugged, mentally rejoicing that he cared. "It's fine. Glad you got there in time. Things could have been bad."

Sora snorted. "You've got some lungs, you know? I'm sure the whole island heard you yelling." I cringed. That wasn't exactly a compliment. "Riku's pretty protective of you." He added.

Where had that come from? I didn't know how to respond. "Oh." I said.

"Are _you_ sure there's nothing between you guys?" He squinted at me, nearly smiling again.

"Nope. As much as my dad would like it, I'm afraid we're strictly platonic." I bit my lip to keep from busting up like Yuffie had. I was giddy all of a sudden, probably from the relief on his face.

"Good. That's good." He said and reached over to take my hand.

_Oh my god. Someone shoot me right now. Life can't get any better. _I thought manically, without bothering to cover up my grin. I had a feeling it wasn't going away anytime soon.

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_A/N: So it's pretty short. But it was absolute fluff. Useless fluff, just like the rest of this story will be. –dances- Um, anyway._

_Reviewer Thanks:_

_Yuffie-gal23_

_Perfect Abuse_

_C'est moi_

_Paopuluver_

Meranii 

_ShadowKairi _


	6. Sora the Spy

_A/N: Full of short, fluffy-ish interludes…_

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I'd recently taken to watching him as he sat, smiling at nothing. He didn't even notice me watching him, so deep in his thoughts. I didn't need three guesses to figure out what exactly was on his mind. I'd even caught myself smiling at him a few times. It was nice to see cool and reserved Riku lose his head over a girl. I'd never witnessed it before and just let me tell you how entertaining it was. For the last few weeks, Sora and I were forced together, deserted by our best friends as they went off into the trees- to 'talk'.

I didn't believe it for a second. Yesterday they'd ran into us after one of these 'talks'…and it's not talking that puts you out of breath. Sora and I spent our free time dueling or talking, (the real kind, not '_talking'_) but mostly the dueling part. After our run in with Heartless, I was very interested in learning to fight and he was an excellent hands-on instructor. Not that I learned much during that sort of lesson (note the hands-on) but I wasn't complaining. Sora was a very nice guy and I did have very much of a crush on him…but I wasn't sure if his interest in me was friendly or…_very_ friendly.

Sometimes when he was shaping me into the correct stance he would let his arm linger around my waist a little longer than needed. Or when we talked he would sit close to me, usually touching in some way. But then he was the same way with Yuffie or just avoided me completely. Once he got frustrated with me because I couldn't hold the sword correctly. He'd raised his voice very briefly before taking a deep breath and turning back into patient Sora. I really liked patient Sora.

The more time I spent with my new friends, the surlier my dad seemed to get. My mom got more and more frustrated at him for being grumpy and Charisma picked a fight with me because mom spent more time arguing with dad and less time focused on her and her wedding. Charisma decided it was my fault dad was holed up in his office for hours on end and yelled at me in front of Sora. I don't yell at Charisma because that's what she wants. Instead, I keep a level voice and content smile and let her rant. That usually pisses her off even more and in turn gives me the upper hand.

Since that fight our whole family had been very polite to each other, barely even making eye contact unless we had to. I didn't care. My days were spent away from their insanity, out basking in the glow of the sun and lots of Sora. Speaking of, I was late. I was supposed to have met him at Paopu Island nearly 20 minutes ago. "Bye mom." I yelled, hurrying down the stairs. I almost escaped…

"Kairi! Could you come here for a minute!" She screeched from the kitchen.

I hung my head, caught and trapped. No use pretending not to hear. (I wasn't lying about the screeching part.) "What?" I asked, leaning against the door frame. I felt a sudden and tremendous sinking feeling in my stomach when I saw my father standing next to her. Their expressions were grave, causing mine to turn equally as grave.

"Sit." Dad ordered in a firm fatherly way that he rarely used.

"Just say it then." I said, sitting at the table. I prepared for the news or punishment.

Mom looked at dad and then back at me, nervously twisting her hair. "I…We don't want you around those two people anymore." She cut to the chase, smiling tightly.

I figured dad was making her do the dirty work. Still, it didn't soften the blow. "Why?" I demanded, instantly confused and defensive, not the best way to handle these situations. Mom looked at dad as if to say 'your turn'.

He sighed. "We feel these two people are bad influences. I understand you've been spending your time with the boy…fighting? Call me old-fashioned but I don't think its proper for young woman to learn to handle a sword or gun, at any age."

"My handling a gun killed quite a few of those monsters that attacked us _and_ wounded me- your _daughter_- _and_ killed a bunch of people." I was exaggerating but I felt I had the right to.

"You're forgetting that these friends of yours showed up with serious weapons-"

"You're forgetting the way they used those serious weapons to save your job!" I snapped, jumping to my feet. I saw my mom start to shush me but my father interrupted.

"You will not use that tone with me again, young lady." He warned. I would have had a few choice words for him if he hadn't plowed ahead. "Speaking of my job, it looks bad on the family when you associate yourself with people like…them."

And that's the game. I was done. I _knew_ this was all about him and his image. It always had been. I gathered myself calmly but quickly and looked him steadily in the eye. I didn't really evaluate the consequences of what I was about to say and I probably should have. Hakuna matata or something like that. "Screw. You." I told him as evenly as possible.

My mom gasped, her eyes nearly popping out of her head. I thought her father's face would explode if it got any redder. His mustache twitched and a vein was throbbing dangerously on his neck. "Kairi. Elizabeth. Cavanaugh. You are _grounded_." Mom yelled, getting uncharacteristically confrontational. A loud crash startled me; it was my father slamming a chair under the table. Yeah…yeah he was furious.

"I am your father and I will _not_ have you-" He began in a voice that belied his rage. I knew nothing I could do to take back what I said and I knew my punishment would not be pleasant, so I figured there wasn't much else they could penalize me with. With that in mind, I walked away from my parents and out the door. I'd pay for that move too but I was a far too agitated to care. I heard my mom yell after me but ignored her. I really didn't care anymore. I was late to meet Sora and that was priority one.

He was pacing back and forth when I reached him, apparently deep in thought. I was hesitant to interrupt but I walked across the bridge anyway. He heard my footsteps and glanced up. His face softened. "Hey." He smiled at me, sitting on the bent tree trunk.

I smiled back, knowing he hadn't picked up on my frustration yet. I hoped he wouldn't. I didn't feel like explaining or talking about it right then. "You were just thinking pretty hard. Anything important?" I pulled myself onto the tree and swung my legs over to sit facing him.

He shook his head, looking forward. "Nothin' important. You're late though. Any special reason? Or am _I _just not important enough?" Sora teased, laughing as he said it.

"You have no idea." I couldn't help but laugh; his was contagious. "Hey, where're the others?" I immediately changed the subject, glancing around the beach. A few younger boys were wrestling near the dock but other than that this side of the Island was ours.

"Ah, ran off somewhere. You know how those two are."

"No kidding. It's like I've lost my best friend or something." I joked. Sora smiled but it seemed to miss something. I sobered up, following his sad gaze to the ocean. "Do you miss your home?" I asked after a long couple of silent minutes. I seemed to forget that just a few weeks ago I was sneaking him food in prison. I also forgot he had been cast off a monster-ridden ship and alienated to Destiny Islands. I wondered how hard it must've been to be so feared and disliked by so many people. Ignorant people. I vowed never to treat him or think of him as a criminal again.

Sora took a slow, deep breath and closed his eyes. "Not _so_ much." He shrugged, looking over at me. I didn't want to pity him but I couldn't help feeling sympathetic.

"I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say. "Can you ever go back?"

Sora chuckled quietly, scratching the back of his head. "Well, Kairi. It's not quite that simple. I would if I could…I'll go back one day I know, its just…when." He laughed, patting my shoulder. I smiled though somewhat sadly. I wanted to help Sora get home but part of me wanted him to stay. On impulse, I hugged him (awkwardly thanks to our seating arrangements). It took a second but he grew comfortable with it and hugged me back…for a couple more glorious seconds anyway.

"Uh, Kairi." He cleared his throat and gently pulled away. "I don't think your-"

"Forget it Sora." I giggled, standing up on the trunk. I managed to stay balanced as I explained, "We're friends right?" I noticed his hesitant expression and felt a faint pang of disappointment.

"Yeah of course, Kai." He smiled cheesily.

"Then everything's good." I jumped off and ran along the bridge. "Now, let's fight." I heard him jogging behind me to keep up.

"You remember anything I taught you?" He asked as I unlocked the old shack containing our training items.

"Kinda. I may need a memory jogger." I went inside and came out with two wooden swords. I tossed one his way.

He caught it with ease. "No problem." He muttered, twirling the fake sword. We went to an open area and prepared for the fighting. He glanced at my form and shook his head. "Don't hold it like a baseball bat." He said, crossing over to me.

I exhaled noisily. "Then how? It's easier to hold it like that."

"But it's wrong. You have to lower it a little bit and don't stand to the side so much. Lower…" He nodded. "That's good. Except for…" He reached over and repositioned my hand. Er, _held_ my hand is more like it. I wanted to ask what he was doing but I couldn't look away from him long enough to come out of my trance. He wanted to kiss me I could tell. And then he was a few feet away from me, nervously running his hands through his hair.

I lowered the sword to my side and looked at the ground shyly. "Don't mention that again if you don't want to. I know you really don't want that sort of…relationship with me." I told him in a soft voice. That was becoming painfully obvious.

Sora laughed. "No Kairi. I _can't_ have a relationship with you. It's not that I don't want to." He still wouldn't look at me.

"Can't?" I exclaimed, poking him with the end of the sword. "Why not?"

"I'm a bad influence…I make your family look bad…you bring shame by associating yourself with me…shall I continue?" He scowled. "Your dad doesn't trust me and I can't completely blame him. Maybe you should just stop-"

"So you spied on our fight but you tuned out the parts where I took up for you?" I asked sarcastically. He kept his eyes down, hidden from me. "Look at me. I don't care what my father says. He's never cared about anything but his reputation, though I was sure he'd have sent someone out after me by now." I smiled when he laughed.

"I didn't spy on you. You were late and I went to find you but you were in the middle of a fight and I…well-"

"Spied." I grinned.

"Spied." He allowed. I felt sort of special all the sudden. Like he was worried enough to come find me…that he was upset because he thought I wouldn't want anything to do with him. (Oh how very insanely wrong that was). The special feeling disappeared just as soon as it had come. Now I was left unsure of what I should say or do next. Awkward…awkward…

"Hey lovebirds!" A cheery voice broke the silence. Our heads swiveled in the direction of the greeting. Thank God for the interruption. Yuffie flounced over to us, grinning like a madwoman. Riku sauntered over behind her, too cool as usual to make too much of an effort.

"Hey Yuffie." I grinned, welcoming her into Sora's and my circle. "What's happenin'? Thought you two'd be sucking face by now." I joked as soon as Riku was within earshot. He reddened.

"We could have said the same about you two." Yuffie retorted. The comment couldn't have come at a better…worse?…time. Sora and I didn't look at each other. Yuffie glanced between us questioningly, brow furrowed. I could almost see the hamster wheel starting to turn. It was as though a light bulb flickered on over her head. Her face lit up with a thousand-watt grin and she nearly started jumping up and down. "I see." Her voice squeaked with suppressed enthusiasm. "C'mon Riku. Let's…lets just go." She nearly threw him off balance when she jerked him away. I could hear him sputtering in question. "I think they were _about_ to be suckin' face." She hissed in what she must've thought was a quiet voice. My face turned hot and I was sure it was redder than a tomato.

If Sora was embarrassed I couldn't tell; my eyes never left my feet. "Ahem, let's um, start." Sora cleared his throat again. _Start what?_ I couldn't help thinking, my face growing even warmer. "Training! Training I mean." Sora amended suddenly, reading my mind. I laughed, causing him to laugh, which in turn relaxed us both enough to make eye contact.

"Okay. Okay that's good. Don't hold back on me, I'm ready to really fight." I told him, lifting my sword to my shoulder.

He chuckled and mimicked my movements. "Very well then." He bowed in a gentlemanly way and we separated.

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"So, you don't think about going home very often?" I asked. I sat with my back against the trunk of the coconut tree, facing Sora.

He looked down at me from his resting on the bent paopu tree and smiled. "Yeah, I do a lot. But it's not quite so bad here either." He shrugged, glancing at the sky. The sun was sinking beneath the sky and I was dirty, exhausted and exhilarated. Sora and I had spent all day out in the sun, training, fighting, chasing each other…my parents chose the wise option to leave me alone (they knew the chaos I would unleash) but that had still put me in an awkward position.

I couldn't flounce home after my fit and expect to be welcomed just like that. So I asked Riku about staying over at his place for a while until things calmed down. He seemed more than happy to help. Sora offered his palce too but I knew the meager rental house that he and Yuffie shared barely had room for two. (In his infinite grace, my father let them stay there for free until they could get home. It was the _least_ he could do.) I had thanked him graciously but rejected his offer. I think he felt a little guilty about the whole arrangement, since the argument was over him in the first place. I tried to persuade him that that was not the case at all.

In my period of daydreaming, I'd been watching him. It was no secret to me that I liked him, unlike a typical teen drama. I knew it and accepted it and I was sure Sora knew it too. "You know, you can let your guard down any time now." I spoke up, touching a subject I'd been thinking about all day. Sora looked at me funny. "You know what I mean." I narrowed my eyes at him.

He slid off the tree as he sucked in his breath, landing on his feet only to drop to his knees. "This is me." He insisted, sliding closer to me.

I scowled. "You're a different person when you do that smile thing, Sora. I see through this…whatever this is. You're holding back, buddy." I poked his shoulder playfully with my index finger.

He grabbed my hand reflexively and laughed. "Right. Right." He shook his head, holding my hand all the while. His eyes traveled up to mine and suddenly I knew he was gonna kiss me. Not even inches between our face, I could see it in his eyes.

He wanted to and I wanted him to but we could both tell he _wasn't_ going to. "Make the damn move already." I muttered, smiling. And I am very very proud to say that Sora did in face make the damn move.

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"Shhh!" I hissed, punching Riku in the shoulder. "If you wake them up there'll be hell to pay." I whispered as I unlocked the front door as quietly as I could.

"For you." Riku snickered, poking me in the side. I squeaked, lucky the door wasn't open yet.

I twirled around and nearly shoved him off the porch. He caught himself on the railing, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. I scowled. "I don't like you dating this Yuffie girl. She's made you…goofy." I teased, opening my door slowly. "I'll hurry, you stay." I ordered him, letting the door close gently behind me before he could answer.

I successfully crept up the stairs and into my room, making as little noise as possible. After shoving some clothes in a backpack, I added my make-up, hairbrush, and other small necessities. Out of my closet I pulled out a pillow. Riku had insisted I could stay in their guest bedroom since he was an only child. Riku's parents were never around (a current business trip to the other islands in the Destiny Islands triangle was their most recent excursion. His mom was a lawyer and his dad was a motivational speaker. Can you just see the jokes writing themselves?). So it wasn't like my presence there would affect them anyway.

I thought I was going to get away with it unscathed…until I opened my door. My heart nearly popped out of my chest when I saw Charisma. She was holding my toothbrush with a snotty sort of 'I-caught-yoo' look. I sighed, defeated. "Kairi Elizabeth Cavanaugh!" She whispered fervently. That had to be the millionth time I'd gotten the full name in the past week. It had to be some sort of record. "It is…" She glanced at her wrist for a watch but found none. "Well it's late! And you're sneaking out?"

"Yes!" I snapped, snatching the brush from her hand. "It's none of your business!" I was aware that we were still in the middle of our big argument and she would probably inform mom and dad of this. I tried to push past her but she blocked my way.

"I saw you with him today." Her voice was much quieter and less harsh. "You like him?"

"Yes." I answered honestly. "I get it. I get what you meant that day, about knowing when it happens to me? I know. Now would you get out of my way? I'm not giving in on this one Charisma, believe it or not." I stood toe to toe with her, not flinching, not budging.

Either she never planned to stop me in the first place or she realized how serious I was about this. Which ever it was, she stepped back to let me by. I took the opportunity with no regret. "I won't tell." She said quietly before I reached the stairs.

I paused, hand on the rail. "Thank you." I said earnestly. Way to go Big Sister. "I'm staying with Riku." I added suddenly when I reached the bottom stair, though I didn't know why, but when I turned to look at her she was already gone. I was sure she already knew.

I slipped out the door uninterrupted, shutting and locking it quickly. I was ready to get out of here. I turned. "Riku?" I whispered, glancing out at the murky, black ocean. I saw no one. "Riku?" I repeated, louder this time. The moon was bright but I was suddenly very afraid of the dark. What if he was taken by those Heartless and they were just waiting for me…or he was…hiding from me. For his sake, I hoped it was the first one. "If you're hiding from me, I'll kill you." I warned, stepping off the porch onto the sand. The wind whistled through the leaves, ruffling my hair frustratingly.

"Boo." Riku sprang out from the side of the house, startling me.

"Damn you." I grumbled, expecting his surprise but still frightened by it.

He snickered, pulling me close to him. "Oooh, the Heartless will get you." He teased mercilessly. I slugged him in the gut equally as ruthlessly, which shut him up considerably. "Damn." He bent over, glaring up at me. "I don't think I like _you_ hanging out with Sora. You've gotten strong."

I rolled my eyes. "Now you just sound like my father."

"Oh no ma'am. Not me." He shook his head. By the way his face sobered up I could tell I'd hit a nerve though I wouldn't have noticed by the lightweight tone of his voice. We walked on, this time quietly. I wanted to know what he was thinking but I was afraid to ask. Instead, I jogged to keep up with his long, silent strides until we reached his house. He was as cool and composed as ever as he showed me to my room. "Do you need anything?" He asked as he leaned against the dark door frame. He looked kinda tired all the sudden.

Maybe it was just me. "No, nope I'm okay." My answer was probably unheard because he was already heading out into the hallway again.

"Night." He called. I repeated it and waited for him to shut the door. As soon as he did, I dropped my things to the floor, leaving them right where they fell, and crawled into bed, clothes and all.

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"Your dad's on the phone." Riku whispered, holding the cordless out to me. I rolled my eyes and took it from him, forced to crawl over Yuffie to get out of the room so they could all watch the movie in peace. Sora looked at me in an 'I'm-sorry' sort of way, to which I shrugged to show him it didn't bother me. "Yeah?" I greeted as soon as I was out in the privacy of the hallway.

"It's been 3 days now. You've thrown your fit and made you point. It's time to come home now." He didn't even bother to ask me how I was, or even a simple 'Hi'.

"I wasn't aware that I was ready to come home." I said coldly.

"Kairi, don't push it." He advised. I glowered into the phone, even though he couldn't see me. "You will be home tonight, is that understood?" He figured I would come quietly or be forced by one of his flunkies. Yeah, like hell I was going quietly.

"Sorry dad. You're breaking up." I lied (very obviously) and hung up on him. I'd pay dearly for that one, no doubt about it. I growled at the phone, pretending to strangle it. I was so caught up in my frustration I didn't notice Sora standing behind me.

"You know." He began, causing me to fly about 15 feet into the air. The phone crashed to the floor.

"Darn you Sora." I grumbled, trying to stabilize my breathing.

He laughed at me and continued his thought. "One day you'll have to tell your dad just how you feel. I mean, you can't live at Riku's forever."

I frowned. "But I don't feel any certain way. I just don't care what he wants."

"Tell him that. Tell him to get off your back."

"Psh. Easy for you to say. I'm still 16 and still under his control…for another two miserable years. What I say now will affect those two years and trust me, my room is nice but it would drive me crazy if I had to spend the rest of my teenage days in it." I told him. Sora shrugged and pushed his hands into his pockets. The sounds of the movie drifted through the door and filled our silence. "Then again, I've already racked up a year in punishment points. What's another one?" I laughed, knowing all too well how true that was.

Sora didn't answer again, getting that serious expression. I knew I had to change the subject…and fast. "I hope this isn't all because of me." He looked me dead off in the eyes then. Too late.

I laughed it off. "This has been building up since..well, forever. My mom used to tell me jokingly that the first thing my dad said when he saw me was 'another girl?' and yeah, that pretty much set the tone for my life. Of course, being raised with a father that was never really my father can only hurt for so long. And then you just get indifferent about it." I really needed to change the subject, if not for his sake, for mine. "Listen to me, all serious. Think they're in need of some alone time or are we safe to go in?"

Sora didn't fall for my abrupt change of direction but didn't choose to comment. "I figure they've been making out now for the better part of this conversation. Maybe we should go for a walk or something. I get the-" He was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

"And there's my father's minions now." I sighed, really pissed about the disruption. The bedroom door opened, revealing Riku. Either he wasn't telling me something about his sexual preferences or that was Yuffie's lip-gloss smeared on his lips. "I got it." I told him, grinning in spite of myself.

Sora looked at his feet, obviously trying not to smile. Riku looked confused, until he wiped his hand across his mouth. "Oh…ah yeah. Well um, okay. I'm gonna go watch the rest of the movie then."

"Right sure." I nodded, turning toward the living room. I left both boys standing at the end of the hall and opened the front door. I was shocked to see Charisma at the door. "Let me guess. Dad sent you?" I sighed, stepping aside so she could come in.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I won't make you leave if you don't want to." She looked around as she walked in the door.

"Mmm. So how's Xander?"

"Fine."

"That's good."

"Uh huh."

"So…what then." I asked finally. No reason to beat around the bush.

She sighed and looked at me through sea green eyes. "Look, mom's nearly gone insane. If not for dad, then for her. Or me, even! You're my bridesmaid, I need you!" She exclaimed, touching my shoulder affectionately.

I laughed. I'd forgotten about being the bridesmaid. Even though I had my pride to contend with, I knew my mom probably had gone every bit of crazy and I was the reason. I sighed. Oh well. If they thought grounding me or forbidding me to see Sora or Yuffie again was going to be the solution to their problems, so be it. I wouldn't stick to it their rules anyway.

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_A/N: Short, fluffy-ish interludes. I **really** like what comes next. _

Reviewer Thanks: THANK YOU ALL 

_**Raven**: Unfortunately, the entire story is through Kairi's eyes. I'm sorry. Not to sound like I'm advertising myself here, but if you really like Yuffie/Riku, I've got a C2 community dedicated to him. There's only like 6 stories right now, but I'm sure it'll grow. Anyway, thanks for the review!_

_**Kirakayano**_

_**Bracken-Fae**: Mine is currently disabled too. I'm so tired of all these changes. _

_**Meranii**_

_**Iris**: Aw! Thank you!_

_**Madagascar Doormouse**_

_**Kingdom219**_

_**Litwolf689**_

_**October Breeze**: Over 4000 words, chickie! I made it longer! Whoo! Thanks fer reviewin!_

Yuffie-gal23 


	7. The Itsy Bitsy Spider

_A/N: Romantic, unrealistic fluff. There is nothing better than that._

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Charisma opened the door and let me inside, giving me thumbs up as encouragement. With a smile plastered on my face, I walked in and was greeted by an unfriendly face. "Dad. Hi. Listen, I _will_ be hanging out with my friends whether you like it or not." I announced as soon as he opened his mouth. "Do whatever you're big enough to do. I'll move out if I have to. I'll be damned if I let you ruin my relationships over your reputation." I could tell this sudden and short lecture took him by surprise. "Okay? Are we done?" I turned and headed up the stairs, leaving him silent.

Good. The element of surprise never hurt. Besides, no frills, no sappy heartfelts, just straight what-I-mean-and-how-I mean-it had always been the best policy with my father. Most of our (rare) conversations consisted of his bitching at me about something I've done or was going to do. That or it was polite, strained, strictly for appearance 'how was your day' sort of talk.

I couldn't lie though, no matter how hospitable Riku had been, I had missed my room. After a shower, I crawled into bed and settled in to watch one of my movies. Alex Emma. Mom came in not soon after, shy and non-confrontational, to bring me dinner. I hugged and thanked her. I knew it wasn't her fault that dad was such an ass.

I drifted off to sleep around the end, dreaming about a handsome foreign tutor named Soran. It was a very very nice dream and, as you could imagine, I was _so_ disappointed to wake up from such a fantasy. But, the point is I awoke to the sound of knocking at my door. I groaned, realizing the sun was up again. "What?" I yelled at my guest, irritated.

"May I come in?" My father's voice reached me from my doorway. Damn it.

"Yeah. Go ahead." I yawned, sitting up. I was prepared for a stern sermon, even a raised voice, but I wasn't prepared for what did happen.

He shut the door behind him, pausing for a moment with his hand on the doorknob. Plotting an escape, maybe? Instead, he turned around. "Kairi." He began gently. His voice was different, less business-like and more father-like. He was gonna try this approach? Despite my cynical thoughts, my mind registered his lack of color and tired eyes. He looked like he'd slept for less than an hour and spent the rest of the night on a coffee binge. "Don't worry, I'm not here to yell." He smiled faintly at my skeptical expression. "I just want to apologize for…everything. I shouldn't have yelled at you." Was…was I hearing this? He was apologizing to me? This was a first time deal. Mom was putting him up to this I just knew it. "I just don't trust those two friends of yours."

"Because they don't suit your image."

"Because I have a feeling about this. I'm your father-"

"Since when?" I accidently said this out loud. I guess I should have felt guilty for causing the hurt expression on his face but I couldn't bring myself to be sorry. He deserved it.

"Fine. Truce. Do what you want." He sighed and put his hand back on the doorknob. "I only want what's best for you." He added as a final thought. I held back the urge to say something vicious, since he'd gone through all this trouble to pretend to care. A little part of me believed him and believed he did love me in a roundabout way but if I gave into that part of me, all those years of wall building and talking myself out of caring about what he said would be totally wasted. So I kept with the logical part of my heart and closed out the faux-genuine words. He left, leaving me frustrated and confused about everything. Was I grounded or not damn it?

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"Pst. Kairi?" A voice whispered. I slowed from a jog to a slow, warm-up walk and looked around. I had doubts that I'd heard the voice at all. "Kairi!" Nope, I heard it.

"Yeah?" I glanced through the trees, hoping to get a glimpse of my stalker but didn't see anyone.

"I'm behind the bush." Sora said in his normal voice. A large fern near the path rustled to let me know he was there.

"Okaaay. Why?" I cautiously stepped forward.

"Get down here!" He whispered loudly. A hand shot out from behind the plant.

I took it and he pulled me down. "Ouch. What are we doing?" I whispered, wondering if he'd gone insane overnight.

"Hiding."

"From?"

"Wait for it…" He held up a hand, peering through the leaves for something. We waited for about 2 more minutes and I was starting to get antsy. And then I saw them. Even from a distance, I could see Riku's hair shining in the sunlight. They were holding hands and walking slowly, as though stepping right out of a fairy tale romance novel.

"Sora!" I hissed. "We can't spy on them!" I exclaimed, nearly getting to my feet.

Sora jerked me back down and clapped a hand over my mouth. "Shh! I wanna know what they do everyday!" He chuckled at my horrified expression. "Aw c'mon Kai." He sighed. "It's fun."

"Youf are efil." I informed him before realizing he still had his hand over my mouth. I bit him…hard.

"Aieee!" He yelped, yanking his hand away. He shook it out and glared at me. I nearly laughed out loud.

By this time they were gaining on us and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I really was curious about their secret rendezvous. So I ignored my conscience and eavesdropped though the leaves. They stopped a few feet away, talking quietly. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear them at all which defeated the purpose entirely.

I grew restless, bored already. Until…they started their 'talking'. "Damn." I snickered as Riku backed Yuffie up against the tree. I didn't feel right watching them but I couldn't look away. It was…funny. They came up for air a few minutes later, talking for real again. When they started walking closer I realized we were in danger of being found. Sora realized it too and looked around for an escape.

"Scoot over." He mouthed, pointing to the side of the bush. I did, rather reluctant to move for fear I'd attract attention to myself. My palm slipped on a large stick and I fell lopsided onto my elbow. Sora suppressed a laugh, earning a very mean look from me. The couple was too lost in each other's eyes to pay mind to any noises. Thankfully.

I sat up and brushed the sand off my elbow. "Close call." I murmured, brushing off my front side as well.

"Tell me about it." Sora barely made any sound at all as he leaned over to whisper in my ear. "You- oh shit." He breathed suddenly. I turned to him, alarmed. His eyes were wide. "Don't. Move." He whispered, watching something just to the left of my shoulder.

"What? What is it?" My heart practically tripled in pace, terrified there was some sort of rabid animal behind me.

"Don't look okay? It's just a spider." He said slowly, carefully pulling a long leaf from the bush. "Hold on I'll-" I made the mistake of looking and much to my dismay it wasn't a _spider_. It was a freakin' tarantula.

My breathing turned erratic. It seemed like time slowed for a second, the spider looking at me, me looking at it, Sora looking panic-stricken. Then it came rushing back. "Ooooh my _GOD_!" I shrieked (in essence, blowing our cover completely) and jumped to my feet, brushing my shoulder off wildly. "Get it off me! Get it off Sora!" I continued my screeching and wild dancing until I saw the petrified and slightly injured spider fall to the ground and scamper off. It wasn't a tarantula, I noticed as soon as I could form a coherent thought. It was just a really really _big_ spider.

I looked then at Sora, who was literally sprawled out on his back laughing hysterically. "I-I'm sorry." He snorted. "It's just…you-your face was-"

Then the anger set in, numbing the terror. "Oh _nice_! Nice to see how you would react when I was about to DIE!"

"Oh you weren't about to _die_." He gradually sat up, sniffling and wiping the tears from his eyes. I was so tempted to kick him. I would have too if I hadn't remembered something very important. We were supposed to be hiding. I tensed, not even able to _tell_ myself that maybe by some miracle Riku and Yuffie hadn't noticed us. I knew it was hopeless. Slowly I turned my head in the direction of the couple, cringing. They were both staring at me with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Sora." I said quietly, nudging him with the toe of my shoe. He was already looking in their direction too. "We should…run. Right?"

"We can try…" He looked at me and I looked at him. And we both bolted. It wasn't like I didn't expect to get caught, because I knew any and every hope of that was severed, but I thought somehow by running we wouldn't be killed as bad as if we'd just stayed and faced the music. I could hear Yuffie on our heels, but Riku's laughter was fading.

When we reached the water the chase ended with me out of breath and Sora without breaking a sweat. I turned with a guilty expression. Yuffie was trying to act mad but her smile broke through the second our eyes met. "Enjoy the show?" She asked.

I nodded, laughing nervously. "He made me do it." I blamed before he could get a word in and defend himself.

Sora looked at me in shock. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He exclaimed innocently. Yuffie and I exchanged looks.

"Uh huh." She said, unimpressed. "Well, I'm going back to meet him. And if you follow, I'll kill you both." She warned. She had my solemn word that I would never spy on her and Riku again. I was practically scarred as it was. Sora nodded, acknowledging defeat, and a satisfied Yuffie returned to the woods.

"You got us caught." He turned to me accusingly.

"It was your fault for making me stay." I retorted as I backed into the ocean water, letting it cover my ankles. Sora followed. A smile crept onto my face without my consent.

"You wanted to stay, just admit it." He caught my grin. When I didn't answer him, he laughed smugly. "Hah, I knew it. We'd have gotten away with it ya know, if you hadn't had such a fit over a teeny spider."

"_Teeny_?" I exclaimed in indignation. "Are you blind? That thing was…gargantuan! It…it could have eaten me in one bite!"

"Oh really Kairi." He rolled his eyes. "Two bites at least."

"Oh!" I huffed at him and socked him hard on the arm. He didn't even blink. He did catch my wrist as I was pulling away though and held me close to him. "You would have just kept laughing if it'd eaten me. Wouldn't you?" I frowned at him, acting as if I was gravely hurt by his carefree attitude.

"Well, only for a minute." He replied in pretend exasperation, letting my wrist free only to wrap his arm around my waist. "And then I would cry."

I snorted in disbelief, giving him a sarcastic look. He was the master of lines. I used to think Riku had that title tied down tight but Sora had taken it right out from under him. It was my turn to roll my eyes. He grinned, leaning even closer to kiss me. I allowed this even though I was 'annoyed' at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. At least he and I had the courage to make-out in public whereas Yuffie and Riku chose to hide. In reality, it should have been the other way around, since I was the mayor daughter and therefore labeled as 'princess' (as Sora used to say) and Sora was a former inmate. It was our 'screw you and the horse you rode in on' attitudes were what made the days together even more fun.

Suddenly I felt something lightly brush against my neck. My first thought? _Spider_. My immediant reaction? "EeeehhhaaAAAHHHHHHHH!" The wild dance/ritualistic screeching began again and continued until I realized that Sora was nearly in tears, hands on his knees and everything. Clutched in one of those hands was a small, green leaf. Slowly it dawned on me what had just happened. "SORA! YOU ARE GOING TO _DIE_!" I shouted. I took him by the arm and yanked him into the ocean with every intention of drowning him, then bringing him back to life to drown him again.

"K-Kairi wait." He stuttered, firmly planting his feet in the sand when I had gotten him in knee-deep water. Since he was stronger than I was, I couldn't drag him any further. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry but you're so funny-" He was hit with another bout of laughter, during which I was busy scowling and plotting ways to kill him without getting caught.

"That was evil!" I said. Unfortunately it was beginning to seem just as funny as he was finding it but I had my pride to contend with and was forced to hide my grin. Sora just continued to laugh. "And I will get you back."

"No you won't." He snickered, his arrogance reminding me of Riku. I raised an eyebrow and with a smirk I marched off, leaving him laughing merrily to himself. He was right, I wouldn't probably ever get revenge, but he didn't have to know that. Sometimes it was best to just plant the seed and leave them wondering…

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"Keep em closed. Closed! No peekin'!" Sora grumbled at me, keeping his hands over my eyes. I sighed impatiently, letting him guide me further into the unknown. Finally he stopped back, grinning at me hopefully. "Happy birthday." I first took in my surroundings. A secluded shoreline, the ocean was calm and the moon was nearly full as it shone down on us. A perfect night. And then I saw the horses. Two large horses, snorting and everything.

"Oh my gosh." I breathed. One was black as midnight but the other was brown and white. "How did you…" I started to ask. The only horses I knew of were bred on Providence, a full 5 or 6 miles away from Destiny Island.

"I had help, I'm not even gonna lie." He had that pleased, cheesy grin plastered from ear to ear.

I shrieked and launched myself onto him, squeezing the life out of him. The horses snorted and stomped their feet at the loud noise. "You're a sweetheart." I exclaimed.

"Thanks. Um, yours is the black one." He helped me up onto my horse (who I instantly fell in love with) and he mounted his. "Ready?"

I nodded and let my horse fall in line with his. I wondered who had helped him. Couldn't have been my father since he was still hell-bent that Sora was trouble. My mother might've done it, probably not Charisma. I barely knew Xander so he was out of the question. Riku? It was useless to think about it and I didn't want to waste this time. School would be starting in a few weeks, so all I had left of my break I would enjoy. I decided to go with the thought that it was my mom's doing.

"It's a nice night." I spoke up, breaking the lull of the horse's rhythm.

"It is. Lots of stars." He replied. Wow so this conversation was boring.

"Sora? Not to totally ruin the evening but…" I asked suddenly. He looked over at me patiently. "When are you leaving?" I knew this conversation would probably lead to sad finish for me but it had been on my mind for a while now.

"Oh the serious kind of talk." He teased. When I didn't respond, he sobered up. "Soon."

"How soon?"

"…Are you sure you want to do this now?"

"Sora."

"I don't know. Yuffie's pretty happy here. I don't think she'll want to leave, since she's got Riku. But me…"

"Nothing's here for you." I finished quietly. There was no hiding my hurt feelings. I couldn't have done it if I wanted to.

Sora sighed. "You know that's not true Kairi. Where I'm from I'm in my place. But here…and you. You're…your're the mayor's daughter. And the mayor hates me. You can see where I'm going with this."

"Yeah. But what about me? You think I like being the mayor's daughter? You're fun. You're one of the best things to happen to me, as cheesy as that sounds. I'd run off with you to be in your 'place' in less than a heartbeat Sora." I told him, keeping my eyes on the horse's head. I was afraid to look at him for fear I'd start crying. "And if you leave me here…" I didn't finish because the threat of tears overwhelmed me. My horse, which I'd decided to temporarily name Grover, kicked suddenly. This distracted me and stopped the stupid wave of emotion.

"Kairi." Sora heaved a sigh.

"Just stop." I said, emotion back in full force. I pulled Grover to a stop and hopped down, vision slightly blurred. I wasn't going to cry. I was _not_ going to cry. I had totally ruined the moment for us. Typical Kairi move. I tied him to a tree to keep him from running and gave him a few scratches of thanks. I noticed Sora doing the same thing with his horse. I turned to him and took a deep, steadying breath. "If you left I would probably leave too. I'm not staying _here_ for the rest of my life to be married off to the first rich man that makes an offer to my dad. There's something else out there and I'll find it."

"Because you have _every_ opportunity in the world right now. I can't give you that no matter how much I want to." He leaned against the tree that my horse was attached to and tired to catch my eye.

"Damn it Sora, are you deficient or something?" I snapped, stamping my foot like a frustrated kindergartner. I must've looked like one too because Sora chuckled. "I don't need any…any fudging opportunities to find what I want."

"Fudging?" He muttered.

I ignored him. "What else do I have to say? Do I just…do I have to come out and tell you that…" My voice stopped against my will, catching on my tears. "Dammit! See what you did?" I angrily wiped away the tears.

Sora smiled. "Come on, don't cry." He said as he approached me. Encouraged when I didn't pull away he held me to him, muttering comforting things like my mother used to do when I woke up from a bad dream. "Tell me." He added quietly.

"Huh?" I asked, my face still buried in his chest. He smelled really good.

"Say it. I'm deficient, remember?" He laughed.

I sniffled. "Oh hell." I grumbled, peeling myself off of him. "I…I guess I like you. A whole bunch. For what you do have and what you don't have. I just don't want you to leave." I cleared my throat. "Your turn. Let me guess, you like me as a friend."

"Not exactly. I guess I like you a whole lot more than a bunch." He smiled again. "And hey you know what you said earlier? About how you'd run off with me?" I nodded. "Did you mean that?"

Grover snorted and nudged my arm, restless. "What? Mean it?" I wasn't being cute. I was actually really confused.

"Kairi. Would you come back with me? You could always come back to Destiny if you really wanted but…I could continue to train you and you could live with my family and me. You'd love my mother and my little sister would love you."

"Wait! Little sister? You've _never_ told me about your family!" I gasped, pushing him back. "You little secret keeper!"

"You never asked!"

"Cause you never told!"

"Wha…that doesn't even make sense." He began to laugh.

"Shut up." I couldn't help smiling. I starting to feel much better.

"Let's talk about it over a late dinner." He suggested with a grin.

When I agreed, we re-mounted our horses. "Race ya?" I challenged.

Sora turned his horse around. "I don't think that's such a good idea…" He turned it down politely.

I wasn't giving up that easily. "Scared?" Teasing usually did the trick.

He looked at me sideways and grinned. "Go." We both took off, heading for open land. I was ahead by maybe a foot when Grover, my trusty buddy, tripped. It was one of those falls where you see it happening outside of yourself. It seems to go in slow motion, and then suddenly the earth is coming to swallow you up and you know this will hurt like hell. I hit on my side, hearing no cracks of broken bones, just feeling a sort of numb pain shooting through my body. Grover thundered off after his tumble, disappearing into the dark woods. I heard the thump of Sora's boots as he jumped off the horse and the quick steps as he ran toward me. "Kairi! Are you okay?" He leaned over me. What a classic thing to say.

I looked up at his apprehensive face. "Yeah…I'm okay." I tried to sit up and managed to get halfway.

Sora helped the rest of the way. "You can stand up then? Oh…shit." He muttered suddenly. Terrified and having flashbacks of the _last_ time he'd gotten that look on his face, I immediately asked what was wrong with me. "Your back. I think a wound reopened." He mumbled, touching my shoulder lightly.

I couldn't help it. I started to cry. _Again_. "Damn it! You scared me." I sniffled.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean…well _you_ scared the hell out of _me_." He yelled abruptly. I was so shocked at his outburst that I actually _stopped_ crying and stared at him. "If…if something had happened and you'd ended up…" He seemed to be talking more to himself than to me. His voice held a quiet sort of fury that I could tell was directed at himself. "Sorry." He added when he saw my face.

I shook my head. "Not your-ow!" I gasped when he hoisted me to my feet.

"Your horse is long gone, you'll have to ride sidesaddle on mine. Can you get your leg up over there?" He asked. I nodded hesitantly. "Good." He lifted me up high enough for me to swing over with as little pain as possible. He crawled up behind me on the older horse and positioned me as gently as he could, holding me to him with one arm so that I faced his chest and controlling the horse with the other.

We rode off at an uncomfortably fast pace and I had to ask him to slow down. The bouncing was hurting my back. At a certain point, I felt him press his lips against my forehead. I felt a very sudden and very welcome comfort knowing I was with him. "Thank you." I think I whispered.

"Cura." Sora replied. I didn't have a second to ask; all the pain subsided and I fell into a comfortable sleep.

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_A/N: I know everyone wants me to put in some YuffiexRiku point of view, but see I wrote this fanfic a loooong time ago and it's predominantly Sokairi, obviously. I write other YuffiexRiku fanfics, but unfortunately in this one they are just sort of the side order. Sorry guys!_

_Anyway, one chapter left. I know, what a pointless, plotless, fluffy story. Muwhaha._

_Reviewer thanks:_

_**Lord Hiro**_

_**October Breeze**_

_**RETARDcupcake**_

_**Litwolf689**_

_**Wolf Fangs**_

_**Heart of Dreams**_

_**Sorrie**_

_**Meranii**_

_**Bracken-Fae**_

_**EyeoftheTigerKissoftheDragon**_

_**Raven**_


	8. With You

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"What did you do to her?" My mother's voice was the first thing I heard when I came to. I felt myself being taken away from the safe warmth of Sora's arms and pulled into the cold night air.

"Her horse fell. She's fine except for her back-" Sora tried to explain before my mother cut him off again with an exasperated 'be quiet'. I opened my eyes as I stood to my feet to see Sora jump off the horse. I saw he blood on him and realized it was mine. Just great. Another ruined shirt.

"I knew she'd be hurt. I knew you were no good." My father stalked out of the house to meet my mother and I, shooting glares at Sora.

I tried to protect Sora, ignoring the fact that standing only amplified the stinging pain on my back. "Sora helped me. He didn't do anything to me, I did." The attempt to clear Sora's name was futile; my father was as dead set in his beliefs as usual.

"Maybe you should lecture me _after_ you help your daughter." Sora said coldly, his eyes narrowed angrily. I was glad he was finally standing up for himself. Especially standing up for himself with my father.

Dad whirled around so fast it made me dizzy just watching him. His mustache twitched furiously. "You will not tell me how to raise my daughter. You've caused enough trouble in this family. You _are_ _not_ _welcome_ here."

I was absolutely stunned and horrified to hear these words. "Sora is welcome here! This is my house too!" I yelled, glaring at him defiantly. I _wanted_ him to contradict me. Mom mumbled something about the stove and headed toward the front door, once again escaping from confrontation.

"You don't know what you're talking-" Dad would have dismissed my argument like it was the whine of a two year old as usual had I not interrupted him.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about. I've finally figured you out. It just _kills_ you that I'm actually in love with Sora and there's nothing you can do to stop it!" I kept on determined to win this battle and in turn, the war. That shut dad up in a big hurry. Even Sora looked shocked.

"Sit down Kairi." Dad muttered, pointing to the porch stairs.

"I'll stand."

"_Sit down_!" He bellowed. I didn't sit but he didn't seem to care. "You. Leave my house." He ordered Sora. "And if you ever come near my daughter again-"

"Oh for-Sora. Help me to Riku's and I'll stay there." I shook my head tiredly, hobbling toward him.

"You most certainly will not." Dad declared boldly and grabbed my arm.

I was tired, hurt, and _extremely_ unhappy at this point and had I not caught myself I would have ended up saying or doing something I would have regretted tremendously. Instead, I fixed him with a level stare and jerked my arm out of his grip. "I'll be back for my things tomorrow and by Friday I'll be gone for good. Then you and your _precious_ reputation will be stain free." I spat harshly. The astonished expression on his face was exactly the reaction I had wanted and I gotta say, it felt pretty damn good.

"Now Kairi." Sora said gently, afraid that my quiet rage might spill in his direction.

"Don't you even say a word." I warned him. In reality I wouldn't have snapped at him at all but I didn't want to break the spell I had put over my dad. He obeyed and helped me down the path (as little as possible since I was trying to 'stalk' away and I needed my dignity or something like that.)

Once a safe distance, Sora gave me a flustered grin. "You _luv_ me." He chuckled, dragging out the 'love' childishly. "Cause you said that."

I couldn't stop my smile. "Yeah, I said that." The anger was fading. His grin tended to do that to me. "And now that we're out of the evil villain's sight, my knight in shining armor, you're going to carry me." It was not some romantic fantasy that I was trying to act out here, I was just hurting pretty badly and didn't want to walk.

"Yes ma'am." He turned to let me ride piggyback.

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Hey Sora?" I asked once we'd started walking again. "What's 'cura'?" I remembered the strange word he'd said and the even more strange green-tinted numbness that it had brought.

"It's just something I learned how to do. It's like…I don't know. Just don't worry about it." He told me, smiling. I didn't want to not worry about it, but it didn't look like I had a choice. When Riku's house came into view, Sora said, "I'll get you in and then I'll have to go find that horse-"

"Grover."

"What?"

"My horse. His name is Grover."

"…Yeah. Well I gotta go find him." I could just see him rolling his eyes. When we reached the door, I slid to my feet and was soon after taken in by a very doting Yuffie who took on the job of helping me clean up. I didn't think to wonder why Yuffie was at Riku's this time of night. Sora and Riku went off to find the horses.

"You're different. Happier." Yuffie spoke up after a few silent moments. I was brushing out my hair and she was perched on the toilet lid, watching me.

I paused and put the brush on the counter, looking at my reflection. I was happier. Suddenly my smile wouldn't go away. "I told Sora I love him." I replied simply, in a way that implied it was everything but sounded like it was nothing.

Yuffie squealed. "And? He said it back right?"

"Well…no." I laughed. "But I know."

Yuffie nodded. "Girl," She began, sliding down to the floor and pulling me with her. "He has never been like this over a girl. He might not say it but…trust me he does." She assured me.

"Well, okay but have you and Riku exchanged…feelings. Among other things?" I giggled and Yuffie rolled her eyes.

She stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed. The TV blared with laughter in the next room. "Not really. I mean, it's kinda obvious I like him and I think he likes me-"

"Obviously."

"But there's that thing in me that like…wants…to go home? I think that's it." She shook her head.

"Oh well. Sora feels the same way. Only…I'm going with him when he leaves." I decided to say it out loud, just straight out.

Yuffie nearly choked. "_You_…what?" She gasped as soon as she could breath again.

"I'm going with him." I shrugged, liking the idea even more now that it was out in the open. I was actually kind of excited. Yuffie still looked confused. "I mean really. I've got not _reason_ to be here anyway." If that wasn't the truth…

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_2 months later _

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"Yuffie! They're here!" Sora flew in the door, grabbing a coat off the chair.

I yawned and slipped off the couch. "Is it raining hard?" Yuffie bounced in the room with her backpack over her shoulder. Riku followed, lugging a suitcase. Sora put the coat over my shoulders and hugged me to him.

"It will be soon." He answered, catching my yawn. "Captain said he wasn't waiting long, so we gotta go." He winked at me and left my side to open the door for the rest of us. We traipsed outside, turning off the lights as we went. Riku yelled goodbye to his parents, who were both in the kitchen. They'd agreed to Riku's leaving on the condition that he came to visit in a couple weeks and went on to school.

I had announced my leave to mom and Charisma yesterday and had been met with disbelieving stares. That was about it. I promised to come back for Charisma's wedding and to continue my own education. Dad and I hadn't spoke since the night I left, which suited me just fine.

The dark morning sky lit up every few seconds with lightning, revealing large, angry clouds. We were in for a ride I decided. The captain was a rough looking man, though young, with a piercing blue gaze and an intimidating scar between his eyes.

He grunted a greeting in Riku's and my direction as we boarded. "I nearly left. We've gotta out run this storm." He barked at Yuffie.

"Aw shut up Squallie."

"That's Captain. Captain Leon." He corrected grumpily. Yuffie just giggled. To be so early in the morning, she was awfully hyper. She and Riku disappeared below deck with our things.

I started to follow but Sora took my hand and led me toward the back of the ship. "You regret it yet?" He asked seriously.

I laughed. "Of course not." Was my reply. Even though I had my coat on, I wrapped myself in his too, reaching around his middle. I was warm and content.

He laughed for no apparent reason. "I'm glad you came. You're gonna make everything in my life…better."

"More better." I snickered.

He grinned. "Yup."

The rocking of the boat was growing increasingly aggressive beneath us and I could feel the beginnings of rain falling against my hair. "We should get inside." I started to back away from him.

"Hey." He muttered. "Not just yet." And I was more than happy to be held in those arms again. "I think I kinda love ya."

"I love you too then, I guess." And the rain began.

What a cliché. But you know what? Yay for clicheness.

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_The End_

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z _

_A/N: Oh yuck. That was quite possibly the fluffiest thing I've ever written. I'm pretty glad it's over. This wasn't my best writing but it held my attention at least. Thanks to all who reviewed._

_October Breeze_

_ShadowKairi_

_Heart of Dreams_

_Kairiluv_

_Litwolf689_

_LordKagome_

_RETARDcupcake_

_Wolf Fangs_

_Emerald31_

_Carbuncle_

_Meranii_

_PerfectAbuse_

_SeLeNa_

_And thank you to all the reviewers from the other chapters too!_


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